An Honorable Relationship
by PKMN Trainer Blair
Summary: In his life, Falkner goes through a lot of episodes with Morty. But the Flying-type Trainer doesn't seem to be fine with it. What will Morty do to keep his cool? - Falkner & Morty, a.k.a. HonorShipping -Slash-
1. Chapter 1: A Colorful Bond

Now before you even start reading, please read this author's note:

1. This is the first story that I published in this site. **Constructive** reviews and criticisms are appreciated. Positive short comments are welcome too.

2. It's **Pokémon**. Yes, I'm just one of the many Pokémon fans out there, thus I do not own Pokémon, nor any characters, creatures (the Pokémon themselves), items, and settings in it.  
>Pokémon is owned by Nintendo and developed by Game Freak.<p>

3.1. This story is about HonorShipping (FalknerxMorty). Meaning, it has a **shonen-ai** theme (but it might evolve to something stronger as the story progresses)  
>3.2. As of September 2012, I <span>added Humor<span> as the story's second genre. It'll be more noticeable on later chapters.

So... **Don't like, don't read**! There is to be **no flames** in the reviews section.  
>Thank you for reading the author's note! You may now proceed to the story.<p>

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><p>An Honorable Relationship<p>

Chapter 1: A Colorful Bond

"Ouch! I'm awake! Oww! Stop it!" That was just how I woke up in the morning if I had overslept, being pecked by my bird Pokemon, Pidgey in this case. Yes, there is a priority. Most of the time, Pidgey's peck is enough to wake me up. If I haven't woken up, Pidgeotto will peck me next. In very rare occasions where Pidgeotto's peck is not able to wake me up, Pidgeot will peck me. I have been pecked by Pidgeot in the morning, and that experience was enough to motivate me waking up at the right time.

After that rude awakening, I did everything I have to do in the morning; get some breakfast, take a bath, put on my usual clothes, and walk my way to the Gym. It was 11:40 AM. Normally, I'm ready for battles at 10:00 AM. Outside the Gym, three Bird Keepers, which were my Gym Trainers, and Mr. Bryde, the caretaker of the Gym, were waiting for me. I unlocked the sliding door to the building, and the five of us went inside.

I walked onto the wooden platform which brings me up to the sky-high area of the Gym. Finally, I had to wait patiently for Trainers at the other end of the Gym. Waiting is boring, but luckily, as I am the first Gym Leader in Johto, I have the most number of Trainers who will come to challenge me. Before the Pokemon Trainers can come and challenge me, they have the option to first battle three Gym Trainers that can help warming up their Pokemon.

Thirty minutes had passed, and there was only one Trainer so far. Too bad he lost against one of my Gym Trainer. Then I heard my Pokegear ringing, and I quickly picked it up before I had taken a look at the name of the person who called me. "Hello?"

A voice came up from the Pokegear, "Hello, Falkner? It's me, Morty. Say, I'm sorry if I ask you this all of a sudden, but can you help me here?"

Morty? It was quite unlikely that he called me, especially that early in the afternoon. But then again, I was almost never being the first to call the other Gym Leaders. I asked him back, "Huh? Help you to do what?"

But Morty didn't give me a direct answer, "You should just come here and see for yourself. I think you would understand easier by coming here than if I tell you from the Pokegear."

As I had no reason to refuse, and I didn't have anything enjoyable to do at that moment, I decided to go to Ecruteak City to help Morty. "Okay, I'll see you there soon." I hung up the Pokegear. I went back down and told Mr. Bryde to tell the Pokemon Trainers that the Gym Leader would be away for a while. Outside of the Gym, I withdrew Pidgeot from his Poke Ball, and flew on Pidgeot to Ecruteak City.

I landed on an empty lot in the city. Then I put Pidgeot back into his Poke Ball and looked around. Morty was standing near the entrance to Bellchime Trail. I approached him, and said, "I'm here. So what did you need my help to?"

"Ah, Falkner, come with me, I'll explain once we're at Bellchime Trail," answered Morty. I was already curious before I arrived in Ecruteak, and judging from the way Morty talked, it seemed that he needed my help for something very important. At Bellchime Trail, Morty pointed his forefinger to the Bell Tower. "Look at the roof of the fourth floor, can you see it?"

I looked at where he pointed, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. "See what?"

"Up there, there's a rainbow-colored feather," he answered. I looked at where Morty stated, and that's when I saw what had caught Morty's attention all this time... a Rainbow Wing.

I responded, "Uh... okay, so it's one of Ho-Oh's wings. What am I supposed to do with it?"

Morty chuckled, and then he answered, "Isn't it obvious? I need your help to get that Rainbow Wing for me." Urgh, so I came all the way here just to get him a piece of Pokemon feather.

Knowing the situation, I sighed. "Morty, can't you get it yourself? Or just tell one of your Pokemon to get it for you? Your Gengar is able to levitate isn't it?"

Morty replied, "My Gengar wouldn't want to go that high, so I thought I need the help of a bird master to get that Rainbow Wing." That sounded like a sarcasm to me. He could just ask someone else in Ecruteak to get that Rainbow Wing for himself, or like what I had suggested, get the item by himself with the help of a Pokemon.

"But why me? Are there no Bird Keepers around Ecruteak?"

My voice became a bit louder, but Morty still answered all my questions with a soft voice, "Falkner, don't you get it? The Rainbow Wing is a delicate item. If it's torn even a little bit, I might miss my chance to encounter Ho-Oh for the first time. That's why I chose you to help me."

There was something I didn't understand; Morty, who lived in the city where the Bell Tower stood, never encountered Ho-Oh? That didn't sound right. Perhaps Morty had seen Ho-Oh many times, but I guessed that didn't mean he had faced Ho-Oh eye-to-eye. I was going to ask him about it, but so I wouldn't prolong this conversation, I reluctantly decided to get the Rainbow Wing for him.

I withdrew Pidgeot again, and flew up high to the Bell Tower. As I approached the Rainbow Wing, I told Pidgeot to slow down so the wing wouldn't get swept away. I carefully reached for its quill, pinching it between my fingers. Then I returned back down, and gave it to Morty. "Here's your Rainbow Wing."

He looked at the multicolored wing, rotating in all direction to check up on it. He closed his eyes, smiled, and said, "Hm, you're able to bring the Rainbow Wing without a scratch, I'm impressed!"

I remained silent by Morty's praise, basically because I felt as if he was just using me to do an errand that he should have done by himself. "Can I go back to my Gym now?"

While still focusing on the Rainbow Wing, he answered, "Ah yes, you can go back now."

I had already been filled with anger at that moment, so I told my Pidgeot who was behind my back to hurry back to Violet City, but not so loud that Morty would know that I was angry. I got on top of Pidgeot. I and Pidgeot were back to back with Morty. But when Pidgeot had spread his wings, Morty shouted my name, "Falkner! Wait just a second!"

Without even looking at his face, I responded with a low voice, "What?"

He said to me, "Falkner, please don't leave yet, I only want to say thank you. And I'm sorry, my attention was caught up by the Rainbow Wing earlier." I turned my head to look at him, and I cooled down a little by his words. Morty continued his words, "Falkner, your help was very meaningful to me. Really, thank you." He ended his words with a smile on his face.

His smile seemed sincere to me, and so I replied with a soft voice, "You're welcome. Anyways, I'll go back to Violet city now."

Then Morty said, "Well then, take care of yourself." He was still showing his sincere smile as I left, and I realized my anger had completely gone at that moment. Well, at least Morty showed his gratitude to me. Upon my arrival in Violet City, I was glad that I was able to return with a calm mind, or else those Zephyr Badges would fly onto the hands of Pokemon Trainers easily.

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><p>That's the end of the first chapter of my very first story I published in this site. Phew...<p> 


	2. Chapter 2: Guilty Treasure

I put a little bit of author's note, skip it if you want to.  
>(Yes, you will see a lot of author's note in this story)<p>

Thanks for everyone who's reading this story!  
>For a w1k+ chapter, it may take 3-7 days in my case, assuming there's no schoolwork. Onto the story...<p>

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><p>Chapter 2: Guilty Treasure<p>

The next morning, I woke up at 08:10 AM. That means no wake-up pecks for that day. After I did my morning habits, I had decided to stay at my house for a while. I wanted some quality time together with my bird Pokemon. Pidgey and Pidgeotto like being around me, but Pidgeot just can't stay. My Pidgeot is very outgoing, so I have to let him fly to the skies of Johto every morning. If I ever needed him for something, I would tell him to stay around me the day before.

"Pidgeot, go travel the skies of Johto, but return by evening," I said to my Pidgeot. Pidgeot spread his wings, and let out a short cry to say goodbye before he finally flew away. I went back inside my house to talk to Pidgey and Pidgeotto about my feelings. I like sharing my life experiences with them. Talking about my emotions with my bird Pokemon somehow soothes me, despite the two always respond with cries such as "Pid, Pidgey!" or "Otto! Pidgeotto!"

In the middle of that morning conversation, my Pokegear rang. That time, I took a look at who was calling me. Yep, it was Morty again. "What is it this time?" I asked him while exhaling air out.

"Falkner, could you meet me again? And don't worry, I won't make you do anything this time," said Morty trying to assure me.

I remembered that I had already told Pidgeot to fly away. "Morty, instead of me coming there, how about you come here to my city this time?"

"Hm, okay. I'll be there as soon as I can." He hung up the Pokegear. I wondered how he would come here soon, as I knew that Morty didn't have any Flying-type Pokemon that can get him here quickly.

Ten minutes after that conversation, someone knocked the door. "Falkner, it's me, Morty." Well that was quick.

I opened the door, and I was quite confused that there was no Flying-type Pokemon behind him. "Morty, how did you manage to arrive here so soon?"

He answered, "I asked a Bird Keeper in my city for transportation." What he said reminded me of what happened the other day. I knew there are Bird Keepers around Ecruteak City, and they should be able to get a Rainbow Wing unharmed. While scratching his head, he asked, "Say, can we talk inside?"

We're not supposed to have a conversation at the front door of my house. I rolled my eyes and answered, "Uh, sure."

We went into my house. After I closed the door, Morty took a deep breath. "Alright, I'll make this brief and simple." His left hand dug down into his pocket, and he pulled out... the Rainbow Wing from yesterday. Then he pulled my left hand to put the Rainbow Wing on it. "Here, you take the Rainbow Wing." I was confused, as he didn't give me any explanation. "I'll see you another time then."

I looked at the Rainbow Wing without a word, but realizing Morty was going away, I tried to hold him. "Morty! Wait!"

He stopped his steps, looking at me. "What is it?"

I straightened my hand holding the Rainbow Wing. "You can have this Rainbow Wing."

But he replied, "No, Falkner. I don't deserve it." He looked down to the floor.

Meanwhile, I still didn't have a clue why he gave me back the Rainbow Wing. "Morty, can't you come up with an explanation?"

With his head still looking down, he answered, "I wanted to explain, but seeing you exasperated yesterday, I thought maybe I would just give this Rainbow Wing to you and leave."

Uhh, so he behaved like this because he misunderstood what happened the other day. "Look, I was a bit angry yesterday because you didn't thank me right after I gave you the Rainbow Wing. But you thanked me in the end, so I was no longer angry. Now please explain to me why you gave me back this Rainbow Wing."

He smiled a little. "Glad to know you're not angry at me." Then he remained silent for a while before he started explaining. "Falkner, I don't like seeing people get angry because of my own mistakes, so I tried to fix what happened. Yesterday, I thought you're mad because you didn't receive anything in return of what you've done. So I gave you back the Rainbow Wing." He turned his head up to look at me. "Still, you have the right to keep this Rainbow Wing. I may be the one who found it, but your hand is the first one that touched it."

I finally understood the situation. But no, I didn't need the Rainbow Wing. "You can have this Rainbow Wing anyway," I said to him.

Morty looked surprised. "Huh? Don't you want this Rainbow Wing?"

Of course Morty didn't know that I already had one. "Morty, I own one. I got it from my father. A single feather is enough to encounter Ho-Oh."

He didn't look happy at my statement. "You should take it. I told you I don't have the right to keep the Rainbow Wing. I'll feel guilty if I keep this."

He would feel guilty? Hm, so this had been bothering him. I tried to reassure him. "You don't have to feel guilty. I told you I'm not angry. You can have this Rainbow Wing." With a promising smile, I continued, "Besides, your dream is to encounter Ho-Oh someday, isn't it?"

"Well it is, but..." He looked to the side.

Because Morty still refused to take the Rainbow Wing, I had to speak with a louder voice. "No buts! You will encounter Ho-Oh eye-to-eye one day."

Morty moved his head in doubt at first, but he finally stopped objecting. He took the Rainbow Wing from my hand, and then he grinned at me. "Thank you, Falkner. And what you just said really touched me."

Morty was satisfied that he could have the Rainbow Wing. "Alright, I need to return to Ecruteak now. I'll see you another time." He walked to door. Before he closed the door, he turned his head back to look at me, smiling. It was like the one from the day before, but somehow it gave me a different feel, although I wasn't quite sure what it was. I replied with a little smile before he closed the door.

My problem with Morty was finally over. And so, it was the time for me to go to the Gym waiting for Pokemon Trainers to challenge me. Waiting for Trainers always feel the same from day to day, but somehow I was more patient during that day. My mood was bright, perhaps because of what happened earlier in my house? No, it couldn't be. I was the one who made Morty elated, so why did I feel the same? Hmm, I guessed there's some sort of mutual bond here, but I didn't fully understand it.

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><p>Before you say anything, I know it's supposed to be 'pleasure' and not 'treasure'. If you read the story well, you know why I replaced the word with 'treasure'.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3: Harmed Wings

Author's note again, not really important this time...

This chapter is published a week after the second chapter. Like I said before, it may take up to a week for a w1k+ chapter.  
>But let me tell you, this doesn't mean each chapter in this story will only consist of 1k-2k words.<br>Future chapters _may_ have more than 3k words, and that means I'll need longer time to make it.

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><p>Chapter 3: Harmed Wings<p>

It had been five days since the last time Morty called me. I was a little disappointed that I gave him the Rainbow Wing, but I considered giving Morty a chance to see Ho-Oh to be a good deed. So I didn't feel bad for what I had done. I thought about that one afternoon in my Gym. There weren't many good battles that day. From about nine Trainers who came to the Gym, two lost against my Gym Trainers. Among the seven Trainers who got through them and challenged me, five won. It's good that more Trainers would become champions, but it's not for my reputation.

Maybe I wasn't in top form during that day. While I was trying to find out why, one of the Bird Keeper in my Gym came to me. "Falkner, please come down quick! You have to see this!" He looked quite panicky. I hurried down from the sky-high area of the Gym.

When I arrived down, I saw a very unpleasant scene in front of my eyes... my Pidgeot with bruises and scratches on its body. "Wh-what happened?" I asked to Mr. Bryde who was standing next to my Pidgeot.

"I have no clue," he answered in a low tone. "Your Pidgeot came here on its own. I saw Pidgeot outside the Gym about to faint, so I decided to bring him here."

I was going to burst to tears seeing my Pidgeot with all those injuries. Oh my, Pidgeot, who or what had done this to you? "I'll take care of Pidgeot. In the mean time, you take care of the Gym." Mr. Bryde nodded. Then I took Pidgeot out of my Gym, into my house.

In my house, I sent Pidgey and Pidgeotto out of their Poke Ball so they could take a look at Pidgeot. The two flew quickly to Pidgeot as soon as they're out of their Poke Ball. They were concerned too about Pidgeot. Pidgeot's eyes were closed tightly, as he was trying to resist his pain. I kneeled on the floor, placing my right hand on Pidgeot's head. "Pidgeot, can you try explain to me what happened?"

Pidgeot raised both of its wings slowly as if his wings were heavy, his wings must had been badly injured. He swung his wings back and forth, and then pointed his wings at him. He moved them in a tapping motion, poking many parts of his body. I tried to find out what happened. From the movements of his wings, I knew he had been attacked by a horde of birds, and he was unable to defeat them. "Pidgeot, are you attacked by a group of birds?" Pidgeot moved its head down slowly. My, his injury must have been serious.

As I walked to my room to get the first aid, my Pokegear rang. It's Morty again. "Morty please, not now."

But Morty didn't try to end the conversation. "I can tell that something bad has happened. What is it?"

I thought whether I should tell him what happened. Then I decided not to get Morty involved in the situation. "You don't have to know," I said to him, "Now please, I need to cure my Pidgeot." Ah! I accidently told him what my problem is.

Morty replied, "So your Pidgeot's injured." He didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Alright I won't bother you," he said with a low voice.

I opened the first aid box, but there's no bandage in there. I use my bandages a lot, mostly because of accidents and undesired events that happened when I was flying with Pidgeot. But I shouldn't run out of bandages at times like this. "Man! I'm out of bandages," I shouted in irritation.

A voice came to my left ear, "Your bird Pokemon's injured and you don't have any bandages? Falkner, let me buy you some." That's when I realized I hadn't hung up the Pokegear that I was holding with my left hand. I hate that I couldn't keep my thoughts to myself sometimes.

I retorted to Morty's voice, "Morty, you don't have to-" But Morty had hung up the Pokegear.

There's nothing more to do except waiting. I sat next to Pidgeot, who was lying helplessly on the floor. Meanwhile, Pidgey and Pidgeotto were loyally standing near Pidgeot all the time. I checked up on Pidgeot's condition. "Pidgeot, do you feel better now?" Pidgeot moved his head closer to Pidgeotto, saying something to him. Pidgeotto cried 'otto, otto' while nodding a few times. Ah, so Pidgeot must have felt better, at least compared from his condition when I was at the Gym.

Ten minutes later, someone knocked the door. There's no doubt that it's Morty. I opened the door, and I saw Morty carrying a plastic bag with bandages in it. "Come on, let's cure Pidgeot." Morty didn't even greet me first. He closed the door, walking in to approach Pidgeot. Morty kneeled next to Pidgeot to check up on Pidgeot. Pidgey and Pidgeotto were watching Morty's actions, they didn't seem to trust Morty yet.

Morty commanded me, "We should apply some antiseptics first." I took the antiseptic and cotton wools out of the box. We cleaned Pidgeot's wounds, and then used the antiseptic on him. Pidgey and Pidgeotto looked happy seeing Morty helped me. "Get the bandages," Morty said while pointing his hand to the bandages. The next thing we did was covering Pidgeot's wounds with the bandage. It wasn't the end of Pidgeot's pain though.

"Pidgeot's still in pain," I said to Morty, "Hm, I'm pretty sure we've covered all the wounds on his body."

Morty didn't respond to my statement, instead he silently examined Pidgeot. Pidgeot let out a short cry when Morty's hand touched him, and Pidgeotto reacted by pecking Morty's wrist. Morty shouted, "Ow!" My bird Pokemon hadn't fully trusted Morty.

"Pidgeotto, it's alright. He was trying to find the cause of Pidgeot's pain." Pidgeotto nodded, and then he cried 'otto' in a low voice.

Morty held Pidgeot using both of his hands. He turned Pidgeot around. Suddenly, he shouted, "Ah! This must be the source of the pain." Morty pulled something from Pidgeot's body, Pidgeot cried loudly when Morty pulled it. Then he called me, "Look." So there was a splinter on the area of Pidgeot's tail. Pidgeot must have fallen through tree branches after being attacked by other bird Pokemon.

I was delighted seeing Pidgeot who was able to stand again. Pidgeot cried proudly, "Pidgeooott!" Pidgey and Pidgeotto flew, circling Pidgeot. They let out short cries as a sign of happiness as they're flying. After circling Pidgeot, Pidgey and Pidgeotto circled around Morty.

Then Pidgeotto stood next to Pidgeot, while Pidgey perched on Morty's right shoulder. Morty asked me curiously, "Falkner, what's with the behavior of your bird Pokemon?"

I answered to him, "Oh, they must've liked you now."

Morty smiled. "That's good to know, especially after that painful peck I had," he said while rubbing the mark on his right wrist. "Say, are you going to let Pidgeot fly again?"

I was sure Pidgeot wanted to fly again, but he would need some time to recover. Also, I didn't want the same group of birds attacked him twice that day. "No, he should stay by my side." Then Pidgeot nuzzled me on my cheek. Pidgeot didn't forget to nuzzle on Morty too. Then my bird Pokemon stood together in a group. It seemed that they had trusted Morty.

"My work's done here." He looked proud of himself. "I should go back to Ecruteak now." As Morty walked to the door, I felt like there's something I need to do, but I didn't remember it.

When I glanced at Pidgeot, I remembered what I had to do. "Morty!" I called him before he touched the door knob.

"Hm? Is there something else you need?" Curing my bird Pokemon is one of the virtuous things anyone could've done for me. "Morty, thank you for curing Pidgeot."

I realized Morty didn't look mad when I almost forgot to thank him, unlike me. I would be embarrassed of myself if I was reminded of that moment in Bellchime Trail. Morty replied, "You're welcome. Glad I can do something good for you after what you have given to me." Thanking him only made him even more pleased. There's not a hint of anger in his face since Pidgeot was cured. "I'll see you another time, Falkner." This guy was always smiling, I just couldn't understand his emotions.

After Morty left, I talked to Pidgeot, "You should join me at the Gym." Pidgeot nodded as a response.

Mr. Bryde gave me a warm welcome when I went back to the Gym with Pidgeot. "Falkner, your Pidgeot looks ready for battles!"

Like what I had pointed out, Pidgeot needed time to recover. "Not yet, Pidgeot should rest for a while. I also need to take care of him."

Mr. Bryde responded, "I see. Though I would love to see your Pidgeot battling again." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, that will have to wait." And so I waited for more Pokemon Trainers to challenge me at the other high end of the Gym.

Pidgeot was standing at my back, he looked quite disappointed. "Pid, Pidgeot..." I tried to comfort him. "I'm sorry Pidgeot, but I can't let you battle after the injuries you had. You should just watch me battle with Pidgey and Pidgeotto, OK?" Pidgeot didn't seem satisfied with what I said. I could only hope Pidgeot would feel better after he watched me battling Trainers with my smaller bird Pokemon. I would feel better too if I could win against more Trainers that day.

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><p>Now what should I say for this chapter's end note?<br>You can expect something really good (or the opposite) to happen in the next chapter.


	4. Chapter 4: Partners in Life

**Read** this author's note! If you don't want to see unwanted things...

Take a second (or is it your first?) **look at** the **genre** and the **main characters** of this story!  
>Yes, I need to remind the <strong>shonen-ai theme<strong> in this story. You should be able to know what that means.

Oh, this chapter's a long one.

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><p>Chapter 4: Partners in Life<p>

"Good work my bird Pokemon!" I praised Pidgey and Pidgeotto after winning a battle against a Pokemon Trainer. Pidgeot, who was next to me, cried sympathetically. Pidgeot didn't fly around on its own as he wanted to stay with us that day. Meanwhile, the lost Trainer sighed and walked away without a word.

"Well, time for lunch." Yes, we Gym Leaders spend lunch break inside our Gym. It's more efficient than going from the Gym to our house just for lunch and then back to the Gym.

I had brought lunch for me and my bird Pokemon. One was a lunchbox with beef teriyaki and steamed rice for me, the other was a sack filled with bird Pokemon food for Pidgey, Pidgeotto, and Pidgeot. I turned the sack upside down while shaking it, so the food would come out. "Here, you all have to fill your hunger." The three birds quickly ran for the food. They were eating their food fast, perhaps because each of them wanted to get more portion of the food. As for me, I ate my lunch at a regular pace, because I didn't want to choke on my own lunch.

After the three of us had finished eating our lunch, I reviewed the battles I had so far that day. "Hey, were you two enjoying the battles we had today?" Pidgey slowly shook his head in horizontal direction, and then he switched to looking up and down. Pidgey seemed confused deciding what answer he would give to me. On the other hand, Pidgeotto gave a straightforward response, he shook his left and right with his eyes closed, signing disappointment.

I asked for Pidgeot's opinion too, although he was only spectating the battles. "What about you, Pidgeot?" Pidgeot shook his head a little while letting out short cries. Pidgeot seemed proud of Pidgey and Pidgeotto's skills, but he wasn't quite fascinated by the battles. The battles were quick because the Trainers who challenged me only had one or two Pokemon with them.

I was starting to lose my energy. A quarter past one in the afternoon, but there was only three challengers who had come. What made the battles boring was the easy win. My Pidgey was able to defeat the Pokemon of the two Trainers all by himself. The team of the last Pokemon Trainer lost against my Pidgeotto. I was afraid this would become one of those days where a leader might take a nap in the Gym, only to get embarrassed after being woken up by a Trainer.

I yawned a lot of times as I waited for another challenger to come. Eventually, minutes would turn into an hour. I saw Pidgey and Pidgeotto were sleeping peacefully, the two leaning on the sides of my stomach. On the contrary, Pidgeot was still full of energy. I managed to do something with my Pokegear. I checked the clock on my Pokegear, 12:30 PM, which means there had been no challengers for over an hour. The Pokegear radio wouldn't be able to entertain me. The next thing I did was looking at the contacts list, finding someone that I could have a good chat with. The name that came to my head first was Morty. He's always the one who called me first, so I figured out that it's OK if I was the one who calls first sometimes. I waited for him to pick up, but I had no luck, Morty didn't answer my call.

Wait... Morty didn't answer my call? All this time, I had always answered his calls although I didn't want to talk to him, and now he didn't answer when I called him. I tried to control my temper, or else I would be yelling at the phone the next time I talked with Morty over the Pokegear. I called him again, but still I got no answer. Third try, still no answer.

I felt a bit angry, but also puzzled at the same time. I pondered about what I should do for a moment. Rather than suffering in boredom, I decided to leave my Gym and go to Ecruteak City to talk with Morty. Outside the Gym, I got on Pidgeot. "Pidgeot, fly to Ecruteak city!" I commanded Pidgeot. Pidgey and Pidgeotto flew alongside me and Pidgeot.

Once I arrived at Ecruteak City, I put my bird Pokemon back into their Poke Ball. Then I headed to the Ecruteak Gym. The interior of the Gym gave me the goosebumps. Mr. Bryde (there's only one name for all caretakers of Gyms in one region) was blocking the path ahead of me. "You must be looking for the Gym Leader. He's not here at the moment."

Wanting to know where Morty went, I asked him, "Do you know where Morty went out to?"

"Sorry, but he didn't tell me where he went out to," answered Mr. Bryde.

Not the answer I wanted. So I tried to get more information. "Did he tell you anything before he left?"

"No, he only told me to stay at the Gym while he's away." I didn't get a single clue about where Morty went out to. Feeling disappointed, I was about to turn around to walk out of the Gym. "But the Mediums in this Gym might know something though. I'll go ask them." I was relieved that he tried to help me. He went to the ghostly path, and later returned with a Medium.

The Medium looked at me from my foot to my head, I didn't understand what she's doing. The Medium adjusted her glasses. "Ah, you're the leader of Violet City. Are you looking for our Gym Leader?"

I answered to the old woman, "Yes, do you know where he is now?"

She nodded a few times while saying 'mmhmm'. Then with her husky voice, she said, "The Gym Leader just had a talk with me not long ago. He said that he needed some time alone. You shouldn't bother the young seer."

I got a little information, but still no hint of Morty's whereabouts. "But I wanted to talk with him. Please, tell me where he is."

She took a deep breath, looking down to the floor. "I see, you are concerned of the Gym Leader." The Medium looked at me on the eyes, her head leaning to the front. I was a bit scared by her look. "I believe you have a good intention." Was she reading my mind? "Before he left, the Gym Leader told me he would be going to the Burned Tower. Not to mention he looked a little depressed back then."

I was satisfied as I had clear information of Morty's whereabouts, though hearing that he's depressed did bother me. But I had enough information, so I decided not to ask more to the Medium. "Thank you for telling me everything. I should be leaving now."

"You're welcome, bird master. I do feel that you're able to comfort the seer," replied the Medium.

I walked out of the Ecruteak Gym, and then I ran to the Burned Tower. I looked around from the entrance, but Morty was nowhere to be seen. I had a feeling that he was in there though, so I examined every corner of the creaky tower. To my surprise, I found Morty sitting against one of the tower's broken pillars. Something's not right, I couldn't see the smile on his face. What I could see from him was bitterness.

"Morty, what are you doing here?" I asked him in curiosity.

He was startled by my presence. "Ah Falkner, it's you. I-I just want to be alone for a while, please. I need a time to set my mind at peace." His left hand partially covering his face, while his right hand telling me to go away. I knew that he faced a serious problem that time, and he would need my help.

Still, the Burned Tower is not the place for anyone to ease their mind. I kneeled down to the wooden floor. "But here? You could've been alone in your own house," I said while sitting on the wall opposite to the pillar, so I could talk head-to-head with Morty.

"No, not my house. It would bring a lot of hurtful memories to my mind." Memories? That word made me thought that his problem might have connection with a past experience.

"And what are those memories about?"

When he's about to explain his memories, instead he said, "Falkner, please. You don't have to mind this. It's kind of personal."

As I was determined to help him, I would not leave so easily. "Look, no matter how many times you tell me to go away, I would still be here until you're feeling better. So seriously, tell me what is wrong with you." I realized I spoke a little too loud when I said those last words. Morty blinked hearing what I had said, and then he sighed with his eyes closed.

"It's about Eusine." Eusine... I couldn't recall when the last time I heard that name was. "I just got a message from him this morning."

"What did he say to you?" I asked with my eyes widening.

"Uh, well..." Morty paused for a second. "It's been three months since the time Eusine went to Kanto. However, if it's from the time Eusine left Ecruteak City, it's been eight months already. A week ago I sent a mail to Eusine asking him when he would return. In his reply, he said he didn't know because studying Suicune's movements would take a long time. He wanted to stay longer in Kanto." And so I had known Morty's situation. He was depressed because Eusine left him for such a long time.

I wondered if Eusine really regarded Morty as his companion. "And he never paid you a single visit ever since he left?"

"During the first two months after he left, yes. After that, no." Morty grabbed his head with his left hand. "Eusine cared so much for Suicune, sometimes it made me think that I'm just an item he used to get him to Suicune."

I did my best to show my sympathy towards Morty. "I never thought you could get so frustrated of Eusine. I have always viewed you two as good partners, you know. I feel sorry for you." I could see a little smile on his face after what I had said.

"Hm, perhaps I was overreacting about Eusine's message, don't you think?" He asked me, raising his eyebrows.

"No, not at all. Being left by someone you really cared about, I know that would be painful." From that point, the atmosphere had become better. Still, I wanted to know more about his partnership with Eusine. "Say, you said your dream is to encounter Ho-Oh, right? Has Eusine ever helped you achieve that dream?"

Morty's smile faded. "Sadly, no. I have always helped him to get him to Suicune, but there's not a single time he's willing to help me encountering Ho-Oh." I was shocked. Morty had done so much for Eusine, but Eusine never helped him in return.

"Does he even know that you wanted to see Ho-Oh as much as he wanted to see Suicune?" I was hoping the answer wouldn't be a 'no', as I might comment in a sharp tone if it was.

"He knows I wanted to see Ho-Oh, but what he doesn't know is that I wanted to see Ho-Oh as much as he wanted to see Suicune." I was relieved I didn't have to shout out comments with harsh words. I thought that Eusine was too focused on his own goal. Then I heard Morty calling my name, "Falkner?"

I only responded with a 'huh'.

He looked down, and asked, "Should I wait for Eusine to return, or should I just forget about him?"

I needed some time to think for the answer. I couldn't say he should wait for Eusine because he was still chasing for Suicune in Kanto, which seemed never-ending. On the other hand, I couldn't say he should forget Eusine because he had been Morty's companion. So I decided to ask him back, "Well, are you still hoping he would return?"

He moved his head up. "Not really. Hoping itself won't do anything." Morty moved his head back down. "Guess I just have to let him go, so he could meet Suicune. I should let him fulfill his dream, as I was his partner."

I was happy that he's able to make his own decision. "There, your problem's been solved." What was better is that he was smiling like his usual self again.

"You're right." He sighed, then his eyes turned to look at me. "Besides, I don't need Eusine's help to meet Ho-Oh. Do you know why?"

I responded quickly, "Because you're able to accomplish that on your own." That was an answer by the way, not a question asking Morty back.

He chuckled at my answer. "No, that's not the reason why. I wouldn't be able to do it by myself."

I was quite sure about my answer earlier. "Then why did you say don't need Eusine's help?"

He rested his head on his right palm. "It's because I have you." He stared at me with a smirk, which was somewhat creepy in my opinion. I didn't know how I should reply his words. As I was thinking what to say, I noticed Morty had moved forward. He was no longer leaning on the pillar behind him.

I was agitated by Morty's behavior. If I stayed silent, there's no doubt he would make his next move. "Uh, glad I can help." I turned my head to the side so I didn't need to see Morty's face.

Still, I could hear his voice. "You've known that I cared so much for Eusine in the past, but he never cared about my wants. I don't want to be like him."

It seemed that Morty was trying to tell me something. "What do you mean you don't want to be like him?" I was still looking to the side.

"Well, you've shown how much you care for me. I don't want you to be disappointed in the end like what had happened to me. That's why three days ago I helped your bird Pokemon." Hearing his answer, I adjusted my eyes so I could see him. Morty had already been sitting right in front of me. Surprised, my eyes looked to the side again.

I became a little nervous. "Morty, I was only trying to make you feel better."

"I know that," said Morty, "But you've done a lot for me. You gave up the Rainbow Wing for me and few minutes ago you willfully wanting to help me get over my problem with Eusine."

As I was becoming more nervous, I couldn't say much. "Th-that's not a lot."

He replied, "From the quantity, it's not. But from the result, it is." Then a moment of silence came in between the conversation. "Falkner, look at me," said Morty with a loud voice. I moved my head so I could see to the front. Morty's face was in my view. "When you got the Rainbow Wing for me, did you do it because I told you to or because you wanted to help me?"

I could feel my heart starting to thump fast. "It-it's because I wanted to help." I still gave short responses.

My heart was beating faster when Morty showed me the nicest smile he could give to me. He's staring at me with his eyes half-closed also. "I'm convinced that you truly cared for me. I could see it from your behavior." He leaned forward, placing his right hand on my left shoulder. "You mean a lot to me, Falkner." I couldn't say anything at that point, as my mind was too distracted by him.

In fact, I had become completely stunned. I had never seen his face that close. What interested me most was his purple eyes. I had never known his eyes looked so attractive, especially from this distance. Those eyes looked as if they were hypnotizing me, filling my mind with only the image of Morty. As his face was getting closer, I had to close my eyes. I could feel his breath on my face. His right hand had crept to my cheek, but my hands stayed flat on the floor. While my eyes were still closed, I felt his lips on mine. All my thoughts were washed away instantly, and I felt like I was flying freely on the sky. Although the moment lasted only a few seconds, it was pleasurable.

Morty moved back, showing his affectionate smile at me, before he stood up. "Falkner, you've brightened my day. I feel like I've been reborn." He waved his hands at me. "We'll meet again another time." Morty had walked out of the tower, but I was still sitting on the floor. I hadn't made a single movement from the time Morty's face was only a few inches away from me, because I was thinking about what he had done to me. When I realized what had just happened, I screamed in my mind:

OH ARCEUS! MORTY JUST KISSED ME ON THE LIPS!

Because I was stressed out, I was finally able to move my body again. I concealed my mouth with my right hand in confusion, and I began breathing uncontrollably. But like what I have mentioned before, Burned Tower is not the place for anyone to ease their mind, so I quickly went out of the tower. Outside, I sent out Pidgeot so I could fly back to Violet City.

When I came back to Violet City, I had made a decision that I should just stay in my house to calm down for the rest of the day. In the Gym, I passed the message to Mr. Bryde so he could dismiss the Gym Trainers and close the Gym. I went to my house afterwards.

I went to my bedroom, throwing myself to the mattress. Then I sent out Pidgey and Pidgeotto. All of my bird Pokemon were confused when they saw my face, which clearly showed that I was stressed out at the moment. "You three should take a nap too. Enjoy your nap time, we're not going to do more battles today."

Pidgey tilted his head hearing what I said, while Pidgeotto looked more confused. Pidgeot looked at me with his eyes half-closed and lips curved-up, it's as if he was teasing me. "Pidgeot, what's with that face expression? Now go take a nap, all of you!" Seeing my sudden rage, my bird Pokemon rushed out of the room. I was finally alone in my room. I couldn't sleep because of what Morty had done at the Burned Tower. A question came to my mind: Morty, why did you do that to me? After that mind-boggling event, I surely wouldn't view Morty the way he's used to be again.

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><p>There, you've read the shonen-ai part of the story.<p>

I've seen more reviews. Hey, I'm fine with both short praises and constructive critics.

Thanks for reading this chapter! (and for reviewing if you've done that too)


	5. Chapter 5: Close Range

After 3 weeks of no new chapter, here's chapter 5. I went through a lot of writer's block, mainly because of my vocabulary.  
>I uploaded this before June comes. But it's already past midnight in my place, so I was late uploading this.<p>

Updates made on May 22-29, 2011:  
>- Mr. Guido changed to Mr. Bryde, Guido is the French name of Unova Gyms' caretaker (English name is Clyde). I chose Bryde because it still rhymes with the word 'guide'.<br>- Layout change for chapter 1 to 3, to match with the new format.  
>- Additionally, revisions are made to previous chapters. The changes do not alter the storyline.<p>

This chapter is nearly the same length as the previous chapter. No end note this time.

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><p>Chapter 5: Close Range<p>

I was standing on my usual spot in the Gym with Pidgey and Pidgeotto, while Pidgeot had flown away in the morning. That afternoon was as sunny as it could be. Next to my left leg, Pidgey was poking me with his wings. "Pidgey, pidgey?"

I spoke to Pidgey, "Pidgey, please don't disturb me for the time being." Then Pidgey walked to Pidgeotto, they were talking with each other. The two seemed concerned about me.

My mood hadn't been good during the last four days, I was still stressed because of that particular event. My performance degraded also, which resulted in a lot of loss against the newer Trainers. And three days ago was the first time I went back to the Gym, after I had been absent for a week. One week I tried to set my mind at peace, and it's still not enough. However, if I didn't return to my Gym soon, the journey of new Trainers would be impeded.

I was trying to calm myself, but the image of Morty kept coming to my thoughts. Somehow, I couldn't get him off my mind. Then my Pokegear rang, guess who called me. Morty. I had been neglecting his calls for ten days, as I was too nervous to even talk with him. As I let the Pokegear ringing, Pidgeotto soon came to me, pointing his wings at my pocket. "Otto, Pidgeotto?"

"No, Pidgeotto. I won't answer it," I said to him. The Pokegear stopped ringing a minute later. I didn't count how many times I had neglected Morty's calls. I felt bad doing it, but I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to talk with him properly. My head was filled with various disturbing feelings. If the condition continued, I would keep on losing. So I decided I should go back to my resting period again. That wasn't the best thing to do in the middle of the afternoon, when there would be a lot of Trainers coming.

I lay down on the couch in the living room, my hands folded at the back of my head. Pidgey and Pidgeotto were staring at me, they approached me not long after that. Before they had a chance to touch me, I said to them, "Leave me alone for now." Pidgey and Pidgeotto didn't left my house, instead they flew upstairs to my room. I noticed that the words I said were similar to Morty's when I met him at the Burned Tower. Urgh, Morty came to my mind again. In moments like this, I should just sleep. I reached for the cushion, laying my head on it. As minutes passed, I drifted into sleep. I was able to sleep for an hour.

Then I woke up in a rather unexpected way. "Owww!" For pity's sake, it was very painful. I opened my eyes, and I saw Pidgeotto standing in front of me. He was surely the one who pecked me. "Pidgeotto, you don't have to peck me like that! I was only taking a nap," I shouted at Pidgeotto, while rubbing the mark on my left arm.

"Otto..." Pidgeotto responded, lowering his head. Pidgeotto said 'otto' once again, this time pointing at the door. I heard knockings few seconds later. I walked to the door, and grabbed the door knob. I opened the door a little to peek who visited me.

Morty had taken the time to visit me. "Falk-" Panicked, I quickly closed the door before he finished calling my name. I positioned myself in front of the door, my palms touching it, and I started to breathe fast.

Of course, Pidgeotto wouldn't shut up looking at the scene, "Pidgeotto?"

I said to Pidgeotto, "It's Morty, Pidgeotto. He came here."

"Otto?" He replied as if he was asking, "So?".

I remembered I hadn't explained to my bird Pokemon what made me avoiding Morty. Even though it's to a Pokemon, I was too embarrassed to tell Pidgeotto about it. So I decided to tell Pidgeotto to scram. "Pidgeotto, go back upstairs!" Pidgeotto flew upstairs, not getting any explanation. I was standing at the door when I gave an order to Pidgeotto.

Then I heard Morty's voice from the other side of the door, "Falkner, please let me in. I wanted to talk with you."

I didn't know what to say to him. What he did at the Burned Tower had messed up my head. I sighed, not having a clue what to do.

"Falkner, if you have a problem with me, why don't we talk about it?" He was begging to talk with me, I could tell from the tone when he talked.

I had made him came here after I had been neglecting his calls. I would feel bad if Morty went home after he had come all the way here. I shifted myself, facing to the front and forehead leaning on my right hand. To calm myself down, I thought that everything would be just fine. I took a deep breath, and opened the door. I looked to the ground, my eyes looking at Morty. "Uh... hi." That was all I managed to say.

Morty's eyes widened. "Hey, you don't look well." His hands were reaching for my forehead.

But I grabbed his wrist before he touched it. "I'm alright. Uh, let's talk inside."

Morty walked in, while I closed the door. The two of us sat on the same couch I lay on before. My head was still facing down, waiting for Morty to say something. The silence lasted about ten seconds.

"Falkner, are you mad again at me? Is it my fault that you're like this?"

I explained to him, "Well yes it's your fault. And no, I'm not mad now. I'm stressed."

Morty replied, "Then I'm sorry. But please tell me what did I do wrong."

In my honest opinion, what he did at the Burned Tower wasn't exactly wrong, it was just too much. "It's about what you did last time we met." I wondered why Morty didn't think that what he did was wrong.

"Oh, that time when we're at the Burned Tower." He paused for a moment. "I didn't mean to stress you out, I was only expressing my gratitude to you. "

I finally turned my head to look at him. "But don't you think a kiss is too much?"

Morty closed his right palm, placing his head on it. "Well, I thought that saying 'thank you' wouldn't be enough. Then again, the Rainbow Wing you gave to me is nothing compared to the kiss I gave to you."

It was my turn to feel guilty. I had been ignoring him after he tried to give the best token of gratitude to me. "You could do something else, like helping me in the future."

He faced down, and said "That is true." Then he sighed. "Falkner, I'm very sorry. You were being so compassionate to me, so I got carried away by the moment. I wanted to do something in return for lighting me up. Somewhere from my mind, I was told that I should do it."

If he had a good intention for what he had done, I couldn't say anything to object it. But Morty didn't know the effects of his action. "Lately, my performance in the Gym has been worsening. I lost to a lot of new Trainers."

Morty raised his eyebrows, and turned his head sideways. "Guess I've caused a lot of trouble." He sighed again. "And that's because of my own feelings." He paused. "Do you hate me now?"

I definitely wouldn't answer yes, though I wondered why he would ask me that question. Maybe he wanted something from me? "No. And I'm fine now. At least you've explained to me about that time in the Burned Tower." After I had a talk with Morty, the stress was finally gone. I hoped that for the next day, I could do well in battles.

Morty breathed out in relief, touching his chest. "I'm happy to hear that." Then he moved closer to me. "Back at the Burned Tower, do you know that what I did isn't just an expression of gratitude?" He asked me with his eyes half-closed.

I stammered, "Wh-what do you mean?" My head turned away from him.

He straightened his right hand, and held my chin with his fingers. I became a little anxious. "There must be something inside me that got me carried away." His head approached me, and then next to my ear, he whispered, "Or perhaps that feeling came from you?"

I began to shiver while my heart was beating fast. I turned my eyes away from him. "Uh, it must've come from yourself." While I was talking, his fingers were rubbing my chin.

"Maybe, it came from both of us."

I was afraid that if he did something to me, my mind would feel uneasy like before. So I moved my head away from him. "Morty, don't!" He took his hands off my chin. "You'll mess me up again." As much as I liked the sweet things he did to me, it would give a bad influence on my performance as a Gym Leader.

"Sorry, I nearly did it again." Then I heard the sound of his hands being placed on his hips. "Falkner, if you need time to relax, how about you hang out with me?"

I looked at him, trying to see if he had an ill will. He was smiling at me, but I couldn't determine whether it's a sly one or an honest one. "Promise you're not going to do anything inappropriate when we're hanging out?" I asked him, lowering my right eyebrows.

Morty grabbed my right hand, closing his eyes. "I promise!" He gave me a convincing smile. "I'll make sure you feel comfortable."

Although he had promised, I still felt a little bit worried. But well, Morty looked like a very friendly person, especially with the smile he possessed. "So, where are you taking me?"

"The National Park. It has such a serene aura, don't you think?"

He was right, what better place in Johto you could find when you're looking for peace? "Yeah, I think so." Then I wondered about how me and Morty would get there. "Are we going to fly there or walk or what?"

"Well..." He tilted his head before looking back at me. "I think walking is fine. The National Park isn't far away from here."

I responded, "Alright then."

I and Morty stood up. When we were walking towards door, I heard Pidgey's voice from behind. "Pidgey! Pid, Pidgey?" Pidgey perched on my right shoulder, he must had been worried about me.

I patted Pidgey's head. "Pidgey, don't worry about me. I'm just going out for a while. You and Pidgeotto keep an eye on the house, OK?"

Pidgey stared at me before giving a response, then he flapped his wings with eyes closed. "Pidgey!" Satisfied that he knew what I would be going to do, Pidgey flew back upstairs.

I was looking at the stairway, before I noticed Morty had held my right hand. "Shall we go now?" He was gazing at me with a familiar-looking smile. It took me a few seconds before I realized it was the same smile Morty did before he crawled to me that time at the Burned Tower.

"Mort, let go of my hand." I turned away from him. "And don't stare at me like that."

He snickered. "Hey, I won't do anything like this at the outdoors."

The two of us went outside, and then I closed the door. We strolled through Route 36, heading to the National Park. On our way, we talked briefly. I didn't even look at Morty's eyes when I talked to him, I kept looking to the front. After minutes of strolling, we arrived at the National Park. We sat down on one of the bench at the park.

I saw people doing various things there; Trainers battling each other or catching wild Pokemon, Young Couples walking together, Pokefans boasting about their Pokemon, there's too many to list. They all looked joyful, while I didn't understand how they could feel so excited. It's not that I was dispirited, somehow I didn't feel as happy as them.

"Falkner? Are you alright?" I was a little startled when Morty called me.

"Um, yeah. Everything's fine." I grinned at Morty, trying to assure him.

Morty stared at me, looking from my head to my chin. "Something must be bothering you. What is it?"

I faced to the front, then I said to him, "Look at those people." I blew a little air. "Today's sunny, and those people are in a sunny mood too." I looked down to the ground. "I don't feel the same as them."

He clapped me on the shoulder. "Hey, you don't have to be worried about that. People get happiness from different ways." He chuckled, but soon he stopped rather abruptly. "Oh, sorry about that. Seems that you're feeling depressed at this moment."

I didn't feel depressed at all in actuality, so I explained to Morty, "No, I'm not depressed. I guess that I'm not feeling anything now, not enjoyment, not sadness."

He smiled, while placing his head on his fist. "Then there's nothing to be worried about." He moved his fist to make his head rested upright. "Besides, you're not really here for enjoyment. You wanted relaxation, am I right?"

He was right, I wasn't looking for fun, I was there to set my mind at peace. "Right, thanks for reminding me," I answered with a low voice.

I didn't have to mind the people in front of my eyes, I should think more about myself and the nature. So I focused on other things; the pleasant breeze, the vermilion afternoon sky, and the bird Pokemon flying above. Yes, everything that reminds of the elegance of Flying-type Pokemon exhilarates me. I eventually closed my eyes to reflect on all that. I breathed in, and out, slowly. After that, I opened my eyes to see that Morty was staring at me for the umpteenth time, with that particular smile on his face. I pulled my head away from him. "Mort, haven't I told you not to stare at me like that?"

He lowered his eyelids. "Why can't I?"

His face expression had sped up my heartbeat, but I tried not to act awkward in public. "Just don't, alright? You said you wouldn't do anything like this when we're hanging out."

Morty shifted his position to sit upright, folding his hands. "Ah alright." He turned his eyes to look at me. "So what do you want to do now? You're not going to go home yet, are you?"

"Of course not." I rested my hands on my hips. "I wanted to be here a little longer."

"Me too." We looked straight to the front before Morty talked to me again. "You know, rather than doing nothing, why don't we have a friendly chat? I see that you're in a brighter mood now."

I agreed that a nice talk with Morty would be better than just sightseeing in the park. "Sure, I'm not here only for the view." Since I had felt better, talking with Morty would be something good to do. It was also a good chance for me to get to know him further.

He told me about his life in the Gym, which was pretty much the same as me. He could get bored if there were too many battles in one day, but he said his Pokemon kept him entertained. In addition to that, his Pokemon always gave him a good laugh each day. I didn't quite get the nature of Ghost Pokemon though. What I knew was Ghost Pokemon could be either very scary or very funny, the two traits would be contradicting isn't it? Fortunately, Morty helped me understanding their behavior.

In conclusion, the chat was enjoyable. I laughed many times listening to Morty's story about his Ghost Pokemon. He did the same when I told him about how my bird Pokemon like to peck me as a sign of adoration. Time flew as we were talking together, soon I realized the sun had set.

"Uh, it's getting dark," I reminded Morty.

He looked upwards. "It is." He looked at me, raising his eyebrows. "Well, I had a great time with you."

"Hey, it was your idea that we're here together." I gave him a wide smile. "And I want to thank you, for cheering me up."

He moved his mouth to the right. "You're welcome, Falkner."

We stood up from the bench. Then we were facing each other without a word for a moment. Feeling a little nervous, I scratched my head while looking down. I could see that Morty was grasping his own scarf.

"Say uh, do you want to come to my house?" Morty asked me shyly.

My eyes widened after I heard his question. It made him somewhat embarrassed.

"Hmm, guess we have enough time together for one day." His lips curved up, and then he sighed. He started walking, with his head facing down.

I scuttled to catch up with him. "You know that I haven't answered your question yet."

He slowed down, looking at me. He was obviously surprised.

"Come on, let's go to Ecruteak," I said to him with a smile.

He didn't reply to what I said, but from the blissful smile on his face, I knew he was delighted.

As I and Morty strode together to Ecruteak City, I could feel a strong emotion deep inside me. I was there on the ground, but for an odd reason, my heart felt as if it were traveling the skies. Maybe I was excited? I wasn't sure, but the feeling was much stronger than the time I gave Morty the Rainbow Wing. We chatted less than the time we strolled to National Park. Once in a while, our eyes met as we strode close to each other. I was close to Morty, and I wasn't only talking about the distance when we walked, I felt that I had connected very well with him.


	6. Chapter 6: Shadowy Feelings

There'll be various reactions for this chapter.

Hopefully, it's a positive reaction, because I have a hard time working for this one... really.

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><p>Chapter 6: Shadowy Feelings<p>

During the walk from National Park to Route 36, my time with Morty was only filled with chit-chats. One of us asked something then the other gave a short answer, or one said something then the other giggled as a response. We didn't start a proper conversation until we're at Route 37, the route directly south of Ecruteak City.

"Falkner, I forgot to ask you this. How are your feelings after we go to National Park?"

"Great. I had a wonderful time." I wanted to answer in more than a word, but it was hard to describe.

He replied with a cocky smile, "Then that means I've picked the right place." He breathed in relief. "I know an open place would be perfect for a Flying-type Trainer like you. I'm sure you're feeling great because of the sound of the wind and bird Pokemon in the park."

"I am," I said to him, before facing my head to the grasses. "But those aren't the only things that contented me."

He asked me curiously, "Hmm? What else is out there?"

Morty had expressed his interest in me, it was the time I let him know that I also had interest in him. "The person who was by me." I faced him with a shy smile.

He stared at me with his eyes opened wide. I knew he wasn't expecting that answer. He took steps to the side, until our shoulders were probably an inch apart. He whispered to my ears, "Sweet words you just said." Then he put his hand on my shoulder, smiling thoughtfully at me. "You make me want to do things to you right now."

After hearing the words he said, I gulped and focused on what's in front of me. But I kept myself calm because he had promised before we went out together. I believed that Morty wouldn't break his promise.

"Ah, sorry for making you nervous." He moved away to create more distance between the two of us.

As I was a little shocked, we didn't talk again until we arrived in Ecruteak City. We passed the city's gate and trailed on its paths before we finally stood in front of Morty's house. His house was like any other regular houses in Ecruteak City, it had a traditional, Japanese design.

"Here we are," Morty said, "You can go inside first. The door's not locked."

I opened the door, and walked in. Morty came in afterwards. Right when he closed the door, all at a time...

"GAAASTLY!"  
>"HAAAUNTER!"<br>"HAUNTAAAH!"  
>"GENGAAAR!"<p>

Morty's Pokemon had popped out of nowhere. I screamed in astonishment and my heart felt like it had jumped out of its place. Strangely, Morty seemed to be treating that event as a warm welcome.

He beamed at his Pokemon. "Hello, ghosts! Well, you all already know who this is, the Gym Leader from the neighboring city," he said to them while walking to their side.

The four Ghost Pokemon were staring intently at me. From that serious look on their face, they must have had suspicion of me. I was still at the doorway after that unpleasant surprise, because I was anxious about what prank they would pull off next. They approached me, making me even more anxious. The look on their face terrified me.

When I thought they would make fun of me, what really happened was very weird. Gengar was watching me, from head to foot. The two Haunter were doing the same, one in the front, and one behind. Gastly seemed to be circling me randomly, changing heights from the the floor. Eventually my anxiety was replaced by confusion. Were they doing some kind of security procedure? Being observed by those Ghost Pokemon, it was as if I were a passenger about to ride an airplane. After that odd experience, they went to Morty, and stayed behind him in a group.

"Mort, what was that about?" My voice was elevating in intonation.

Morty giggled. "No idea. They always do that on every new guest who visited me." He petted Gengar's head while still facing me. "You don't have to be worried. They're not going to hurt you." Gengar nodded as he uttered his name.

"Uh, OK then," I replied, feeling more comfortable.

Then Morty pointed at the big couch behind him. "Falkner, instead of standing there, why don't you sit here? I'll go get some snack and drink for us."

I sat on the couch, while Morty went to the kitchen. What made me feel insecure was that his Pokemon were surrounding me, not to mention Gengar was sitting next to me. The Ghost Pokemon were staring at me, and later snickering at me. I was disturbed. Their laughter sounded unbearably annoying to my ears. As I started to lose my temper, I was going to call Morty, but luckily he came back before I did so. He brought two bowls of potato chips, one larger than the other, and two glasses of water. He asked Gengar to move so he could sit in the middle, between Gengar and me. Then he put the larger bowl on the table in front of the couch, and the smaller one on his lap.

I was surprised because even the smaller bowl had enough chips for me and Morty. "I think you brought too much chips for the two of us. Or are we eating on separate bowls?"

He giggled again. "No, no. The bigger one is for my Ghost Pokemon. We ate the chips on the smaller bowl."

The Ghost Pokemon went for the chips. They ate the food noisily and greedily that the crumbs were building up on the floor by the table. I only snorted at their behavior.

"Don't mind them. It's just their way of eating snacks." Morty held the bowl, moving it near my arm. "Here, have some!"

I ate the chips one by one. They were the usual barbeque-flavored chips. "This tastes really good!" I shouted at Morty, before chewing another chip.

"Glad to hear that," he responded after swallowing the snack.

We ate the chips bit by bit to enjoy the barbeque flavor. And by the time the Ghost Pokemon finished eating their potato chips, there were still some left on our bowl. The stack of potato chips from the bigger bowl had formed a layer of crumbs on the floor. Then the Ghost Pokemon levitated, and yelled their names energetically at Morty. It was like when they surprised me, but their voices were smaller because they were thanking their Trainer. They flew upstairs, going through the ceiling.

Meanwhile, I kept on eating with Morty, until the bowl was finally empty. We also left crumbs, but they were on the bowl. We drank the water afterwards.

I commented about Morty's Pokemon, "Phew. I thought they'd never leave." My lips curved up.

He tried to get my sympathy, "Don't say that. They're friendly creatures actually, but people don't understand their sense of humor."

I only responded with an 'oh'. Of course people don't understand, nobody likes being pestered by a bunch of Ghost Pokemon.

Morty checked the room, looking around him. Then he put a hand to one side of my head, onto the back of the couch. He leaned his head forward. "It's just the two of us now." A rather creepy smirk was on his face.

I folded my hands, pulling my lower lip towards him. "Mort, just tell me what do you want." Minutes ago, I was scared by a group of Ghost Pokemon. Later, I was scared by a Ghost Trainer.

He chuckled at my response. "I only wanted to have a nice time together with you." His head rested on his open palm. The smirk on his face turned into a charming smile. He was looking at me with half-closed eyes.

"Uh... OK," I said with a low voice, "And stop staring at me like that." It was already the third time I said that to Morty that day.

But he didn't listen to me. His head moved closer. "Falkner." He grabbed my chin like what had happened at my house. "Why are you so nervous when I look at you?"

My heart was thumping with agitation. "I... don't know." I couldn't give a better answer. As I became uncomfortable and saw his fingers on my chin, I reminded Morty about what he said back at my house. "You broke your promise, Mort."

"I did not," he retorted, "I promised not to do anything like this to you at the outdoors. We're _inside_ my house now." What a smart guy.

I was speechless by his words, because what he said was entirely right.

He repeated his last question. "So why are you feeling nervous?"

I looked down, closing my eyes. "I told you, I don't know," I spoke to him loudly.

He sighed after hearing my answer. His eyes blinked a few times, but not a single word came from his mouth. "You know, maybe what I told you this afternoon's right."

I opened my eyes, wondering what Morty was referring to. "Wh-what are you talking about?"

He moved the hand on my chin to my cheek, rubbing it. "That feeling... I believed it came from both of us."

His smile was so distracting that I had to close my eyes. Also, I needed a time to think properly. I was filled with mixed emotions. What was the feeling I had towards Morty? I liked him, as a close friend that is. But the way he behaved to me made me fell for him. He had proven that he cared so much for me, and it seemed that I cared for him too. I helped him realizing his dream, I didn't want to see his sad face. What I wanted to see was the attractive smile he has. I felt that what he told me might be true.

I was aware that his hands were holding both of my cheeks. "Falkner, open your eyes." He pulled up his hands so I was looking straight at him.

His whole face was in my view. I became stunned by his purple eyes.

"I've been emotional since the moment you gave the Rainbow Wing to me. Then at the Burned Tower, you were by my side until I was content." Morty didn't notice that I had been emotional too, especially after that kiss from the Burned Tower. "I won't wait longer. I have to tell you now." He brought my head closer to his. "I feel that I-" He stopped, gritting his teeth. "No. I am certain that... I love you, Falkner."

His words stupefied me. I couldn't believe he said it to me right in front of my face. Somehow, I was gratified by his sweet words. My hands were holding his wrists, as I didn't know how to react.

"Tell me... do you love me?" Morty asked me with a soft voice.

What a difficult question to answer. I knew I had attraction for him, but was it really to this degree?

"Falkner, if you're unsure, it is okay if you say no," he said to me, "I know we'll still be friends."

That was easy for him to say. We might be staying as friends even if I rejected him, but I couldn't imagine how hurt he would be if I did. After a long breathe, I told him, "I think I do." My hand grasped his wrists.

He didn't look satisfied at my answer. "I want you to give me a sure answer, whether it's a yes or a no."

There was no reason for me to reject him. We cared for each other, and together, we made each other happy. I let the same sentence Morty said to slip out of my mouth, "I love you too."

Knowing my feelings to him, he gave me a smile full of joy. His head moved closer to mine, until our faces were touching against each other. I was given the chance to see his face. Then we closed our eyes, before we did a romantic kiss. While he was holding my cheeks, I stretched my hand to hold on his shoulder blades, pulling him to me. Soon, I was pushed back, my head laying on the armrests. At one moment, we opened our eyes to look at each other. We broke the kiss as the two of us felt the need to breathe. That was one memorable kiss I did with him. It ended with us staring at each other with a smile of pleasure.

"Falkner, there's something I wanted to ask to you." He was blushing. Indeed it was a rare sight, and he looked very cute when he's blushing.

"What is it, Mort?" I wrapped him into my hands.

"I... I want you to be my boyfriend."

Wait a second, what? I could've sworn my ears had misheard the words he said, but he looked serious about it. My mouth opened wide, forming an awkward smile. "Eh?"

He lowered his eyebrows. "I mean it." His lips curved up, trying to ensure me.

"Mort, when we declared our love to each other, isn't that automatically makes us lovers?"

"I don't think so. I wanted to ask you personally, so our relationship would be clear."

"Really, why do you think this is necessary?"

His eyes rolled downwards, probably searching for explanation before looking back at me. "I actually feel weird every time I touched you. I don't think it's right to touch someone lovingly if that person hasn't personally stated that he's my lover." He put his hands on my shoulders. "I'm still waiting for your answer."

All he said was sensible. Perhaps this was Morty's way to see that we're lovers. "OK, I'll be your boyfriend."

After I accepted, he smiled affectionately at me. He held my cheeks before he said, "Thank you, Falkner."

He brought his head to me as we closed our eyes. I was given another kiss by him. One of his hands stroked my cheek, slowly drawing circles on it. He pulled my upper clothes down, revealing my shoulders. I felt his tongue slipping between my lips, asking for an opening. So I parted my lips to let his tongue enter my mouth, while my shoulders were rubbed by his hands. We licked each other a few times while exploring the inside of the other's mouth. The hand on my cheek crawled to my neck, patting it. The kiss broke for the two of us to breathe, but that was not the end of it.

He kissed my neck, and his hand had moved to my waist. It crept inside my clothes. Later he began to lick my neck, while his hand was fondling the side of my torso. I could only moan in pleasure, my head resting sideways. His tongue brushed against the open part of my neck, the hands caressing the area of my chests. Morty's touches were so tender, but I was afraid that he might be going to go further at that point. "Uh, Mort. No, ahh...s-stop..."

He listened to me, moving away. His eyes looked to the side. "Ah, I'm sorry. I went a little bit too far, aren't I?"

Yes, he was. I wanted to know what his intention was. "What were you going to do to me anyway?"

He folded his lips inside and his eyelids lowered. I saw a regretful look on him. "Never mind that," he said while slapping his forehead, "Urgh, I got carried away again." It was as if he had done a huge mistake.

To cheer him, I held his cheeks. "Mort, it's alright. I know you wanted to show that you love me."

He placed a hand on my shoulder, smiling at me. "I did." His other hand was touching my jaw.

He leaned down, with his head slanted. We brought our lips together, not missing the tips. The kiss was quick, but it was an amorous one. After that, we gazed at each other's eyes.

Morty sat upright once it was over. He positioned himself to the middle of the couch. "Your neck will hurt if you keep resting there. You should get up and sit next to me."

I stretched my hand to pull myself up.

Then he gripped my hands, raising them a little. "I know it's already evening, but can you stay a little longer here? Maybe until dinner? I want to be with you longer."

"Yeah, I want the same too."

He was flattered by my compassion, so he gave me a kiss on my cheek. I didn't respond, but inside I was filled with joy. He took a look at the clock in the room. "It's not dinner time yet."

"What should we do now?"

He raised his eyebrows, smirking at me. I shouldn't have asked that to him, especially when we're alone in the same room.

He whispered to my ears, "We could have fun together..." I knew I was in a bad situation when he lowered his eyelids.

As my heart was beating in fear, I learned that Ghost Trainers could be quite scary sometimes.

I thought he would start touching me. Instead he moved his head away, and shouted "...with my Ghost Pokemon!" He grinned joyfully.

Woah, I didn't expect those last words.

"Ghosts, get down here! We're going to watch TV together." He shouted, facing the ceiling.

Few seconds later, the four Ghost Pokemon came down, yelling their names. I was staring blankly at Morty and his Pokemon. The ghosts muttered as they were watching me, and then they snickered for no reason whatsoever.

Irritated, I groaned with my eyes half-closed.

"Hey, I'm not mad when your Pidgeotto pecked me. You need to get used to my Pokemon too!" He said to me while holding my arm and his was on my back.

The Ghost Pokemon cried, agreeing to what their Trainer said.

"Sure, whatever..."

Morty laid me onto his chests, chuckling. I still looked irritated from the outside, but secretly, I was enjoying myself.

Gastly was next to me, Gengar was by Morty's side, and the two Haunter were behind us. Gengar reached for the television remote to turn it on. He changed channels rapidly, probably without taking a look at what was being broadcasted. It surely would be a long evening with these five ghostly beings.

* * *

><p>The story has not ended.<p>

There's a lot of academic activities that I have to do in 12th grade...  
>But I'll try my best to post new chapters each month. At least one new chapter in a month, two at best.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7a: Obscure Desires

In case a new chapter didn't get released after a month, it's most likely because I got stressed out from academic activities.

Anyways, here is Chapter 7... part 1.

* * *

><p>Chapter 7a: Obscure Desires<p>

I had dinner with Morty and his Pokemon after the TV time, and again, the four Ghost Pokemon were eating with no table manners. Their tongue was sliding all over the plate and they chewed their food fast. If I were watching them, the scene would make me lost my appetite. So I should simply look down to my food, or to Morty who had sat across me. What bothered me was that his Pokemon were sitting at the sides of the table. I could still see them eating noisily when I looked at Morty. Despite that, I enjoyed the dinner because of the quality of the food he served to me. Once we finished dinner, we went back to the living room, followed by the ghosts.

There I was groaning, with the ghosts laughing around me. It was never clear why they laughed. My guess was they might have planned a prank, or maybe they liked me already? Nonetheless, it was the time I told Morty about their mannerisms.

"Mort, I must say your food was tasty, but could you teach some manners to your Pokemon?"

He glanced at his Ghost Pokemon before he answered, "That's just their way of eating food." He ended his words with a confident smile.

Sigh, he really couldn't come up with a better answer. Like what Morty said, I don't have to mind them too much. I should think more about myself and him, and so I realized it was the time for me to leave.

I calmly told Morty, "It's already late. I need to go home now."

His eyes opened wide when I said that, it was like he had forgotten that I have to return to Violet City sooner or later. "Yes, I understand," he responded with a gleeful look, "But... can I walk together with you on your way home?" His lips raised and stretched to the sides, which denoted that he was begging.

"Sure. That would be great." I showed a soft smile to him.

He was delighted because he got the desired answer. I knew that from his smile. Then he turned his eyes to his Ghost Pokemon. He told them, "Say goodbye to our guest."

The ghosts quickly surrounded me once they heard their Trainer's order. They stared at me for a few seconds, before they cried cheerfully together.

"Gastly!"  
>"Haunter!"<br>"Haunter!"  
>"Gengar!"<p>

Gengar had waved his hand at me. The Haunter had thrown their unattached hands to my direction to wave them right on my view. I guessed it was wrong to say that Ghost Pokemon have no manners, they have them, though only a little bit. Knowing that, I waved my hand at them. Gastly gave quite a silly response, he rotated himself left and right like a spherical toy. The ghosts could become a nuisance sometimes, but they were able to be an amusement too.

Morty said, "OK, my Ghost Pokemon. Take care of the house, and if you spotted intruders, you can do whatever you want to scare or bait them out."

His Pokemon yelled their names and saluted at him with a big grin.

Before I and Morty stepped out of the house, we waved our hand one last time to the ghosts.

I took another stroll with him at Route 36 and 37, but as true lovers this time. Unlike before, I wasn't nervous when we walked close side by side. He brought so much positive emotions to me, even when we didn't look at each other. Being close to Morty was quite enough to gratify myself.

In the middle of Route 37, he said to me, "Falkner, thank you very much, for coming to my house."

"You don't have to thank me," I replied, "I'm the one who has to say 'thank you'".

"Why is that?"

"If I didn't visit your house, I wouldn't have a lover now."

He stared at me after hearing what I said. Then he turned his head away from me, sighing while patting his chest with his palm. There must be something that he hesitated to do.

"What's wrong?" I placed a hand, trailing behind his neck, onto his shoulder.

"Please don't say words like that. It made me feel the urge to kiss you."

So I found out that Morty was weak to my romantic talk. I wanted to kiss him as much he did, but maybe not there, in an open route.

"Sorry, Mort. And that will have to wait."

We walked slowly to Violet City. A slower walking equals more time together. Sometimes one of our arms touched the other's arm, because we strolled too close to each other. And it usually continued with us apologizing at the same time, finishing it with a shy smile. At Route 36, Morty once had asked me if he could hold my hand, like what regular couples do. Though I refused, I told him to hold his actions and wait until we were at my house. He looked straight to the front then. It seemed he was planning what he would do to me at my house. Hopefully, he wouldn't go too far again.

After strolling around a lot that day, I finally made it back to my house. When I stepped in, that was when I realized I had been forgetting my precious bird Pokemon. I enjoyed my time with Morty so much that not a single feather of my bird Pokemon came to my mind. They must had missed me.

"Pidgeooott!" Pidgeot rushed downstairs after he heard my footsteps, and then covered me with his wings.

I said to him, "I missed you too, Pidgeot!" I hugged Pidgeot in my arms.

"Pid, Pidgeoot?" He asked me where I had been.

"I was going out with Morty in the afternoon. We went to the National Park. I visited his house also."

Pidgeot noticed that Morty was standing behind me, and he quickly flew to the person who had cured him one time. Pidgeot greeted Morty by raising its right wing and cried, "Pid-geot!"

Morty leaned his head forward. "Ah, Pidgeot. It's been some time, how are you?"

"Pidgeot, Pidgeot!" He raised both of his wings this time, showing that he had been in great form.

"Uh, that's nice," Morty replied, smiling as he shrugged. It was quite amusing to see Morty short on words, because I am the only person who could fully understand what my bird Pokemon said.

"Pidgeot!" My Pidgeot shouted in agreement.

I later remembered that Morty needed to go home soon. So I would want to have a little talk before he left, just the two of us. "Pidgeot," I called the bird, "You wait upstairs with Pidgey and Pidgeotto. I'll see the three of you."

Pidgeot understood what I told him, and he went into my room on the second floor. I watched Pidgeot flew, but when I turned away, Morty had already stood in front of me.

"I should be going to Ecruteak now," said him.

"Yeah, your Pokemon must be looking for you too."

It was a little bit sad to see that Morty would have to go back to Ecruteak City. But that was alright. I could meet him again the next day, and then spend our time together like this day.

He didn't go to the doorway after that, instead he approached me. I could tell what he was going to do to me. He grabbed my shoulders, looking at me in the eye, and said, "I'll be thinking of you." He leaned forward slowly. Our eyes closed as his head moved closer to mine. His lips pressed against mine, feeling the softness of it. A farewell kiss, which I had in mind earlier. The moment was ended with Morty's sweet smile, which had always cheered me up.

Oddly, that didn't happen for that smile. As I walked him to go outside, I felt a strong emotion inside me. It was getting stronger the closer we get to the door. I could feel my heart starting to feel heavy, as if it would fall down from its place. The sensation made me had difficulty breathing. It was very unpleasant. I began to wonder what triggered the pain. Did I do something wrong?

Morty was already by the door. He opened it, and walked out of my house while I stood inside at the doorway. His final words were, "Goodbye, Falkner."

Those words... why did they sounded so distressing? I watched him going to the distance. Everything became worse. I tried hard to stay strong, by facing down, only to look at Morty again few seconds later. If I wasn't able to resist my emotional suffering, I might shed tears before I went into my house. But then Morty stopped, turning his head towards me. He looked worried of me, as he was not smiling. I smiled on the contrary, trying to convince him that I was fine. The faked smile I did, somehow stung my own emotions. It didn't help me to recover from sorrow. I was smiling from the outside, but inside I was screaming, desperately hoping that I wouldn't part from him. I shouldn't have thought I would be alright if I knew I had to bid farewell to him.

I decided to go inside so I could cry without being embarrassed. I had to face the fact that we couldn't be together all the time.

Suddenly, I heard Morty's footsteps. "Falkner?" He called me, his whole body facing towards me.

"Y-yes?" It's difficult to talk while trying to control one's emotion.

He didn't say a word. Later he only said, "Uh, it's nothing."

It seemed that I still had hope. "Mort, what do you want to tell me?"

"It's not telling actually. I want to ask you something... but it's obvious that I have asked too much from you for one day."

"No, it's OK! Please say it." There was a chance, which that evening wouldn't be a goodbye for us.

"Well, I was wondering..." He said as he was scratching his head, "If you want to... stay at my house for some time."

My heart, which nearly fell, cheerfully had jumped back to its place. "Of course, I want to! And how long is 'some time'?"

That was the point we started bargaining. "Hmm... can you stay for seven days?"

"That's too long. How about two days?"

"But that means you're leaving tomorrow. How about five?"

"Four."

"Four it is."

If I could, I would jump to the night sky that time. I told Morty that I needed to take some of my belongings with me to his house, but he said I didn't have to bring too many because he would supply some items for me. Inside my house, I ran upstairs to greet Pidgey and Pidgeotto. They gave me a confused look when I told the two that we and Pidgeot would be staying at Morty's place. It was really sudden to them. I began packing up some stuff such as clothes and bathing goods into my old bag. Because I was excited, I packed up my stuffs quickly. Morty probably was planning his next actions to me outside. I wondered what those were...

* * *

><p>Morty's going to take Falkner back to his house...<br>Should I yell "oh yes" or "oh no"?

Is Falkner aware of his situation? Let me remind you that in this story, we cannot know what are in Morty's mind.  
>I can say that he's thinking about <em>a lot of things.<em>

Next chapter is Chapter 7 part 2. You'll see what will happen to Falkner.


	8. Chapter 7b: His Unforeseeable Mindset

The title of this chapter is basically derived from the end note in chapter 7a.  
>That's all. I want my readers to enjoy this chapter quickly.<p>

* * *

><p>Chapter 7b: His Unforeseeable Mindset<p>

It took about half an hour before I finished packing all of my stuff into the bag. Arranging the objects inside the bag was quite difficult. If they weren't arranged well, I couldn't bring enough clothing. But if I brought too much, I would use double the energy I'd normally use to go to Morty's house. Also, I had taken the time to check my clothes so I wouldn't run out of clean clothes to wear. The last step, I put the bag onto my back to see how heavy it was. Turned out, it wasn't too heavy since all I would bring were clothes and some bathing goods. Once I was done with my belongings, it was the time for me to leave the house.

I hurried to the door, until a voice stopped me. "Oott! Pidgeooot!

I was so excited to the point that I had forgotten about my cherished bird Pokemon. When I looked at them, I could see that Pidgeot was ashamed of me from his nearly closed eyes. "Oh, I'm really sorry. I almost forgot about the three of you."

Unfortunately, it seemed that an apology wasn't enough for Pidgeot. He still looked disappointed of my mistake.

Behind Pidgeot, Pidgey and Pidgeotto folded their own wings together. Then they shook their heads towards each of their shoulders. I found out that what Pidgeot wanted as an apology was very simple, he wanted a friendly hug from his Trainer. Knowing that, I beamed and giggled at Pidgeot. At the same time, Pidgey and Pidgeotto nodded gleefully when they saw the smile on my face. I ran to Pidgeot, and hugged him inside my arms. He grumbled in response.

"I said I'm sorry, OK?" I said to Pidgeot as I rubbed his back, "I was overexcited back there." Then I put my hand on Pidgeot's shoulder, keeping him calm, while looking at my other two birds. "Now come on, I'll take the three of you to Ecruteak."

I carried the bag behind me, and walked outside alongside my Pokemon. As they flew down the stairs, they looked joyful. Maybe they were eager to see Morty's Pokemon and be friends with them? That was up to them to decide what they would do with those Ghost-type Pokemon.

Ghost Pokemon whom Morty owned... I began to feel anxious about them. I wouldn't want to see my bird Pokemon be disrespected by the gang of ghosts who had pestered me. My steps stopped in the middle of the stairway, so I could tell about Morty's Pokemon to mine.

"I just remembered..." I tried to keep my voice low. "Morty's Pokemon aren't that friendly like their Trainer."

Pidgey and Pidgeotto stared at each other, probably in disbelief. While Pidgeot cried, "Oot! Piiidgeot!" He thought that what I said were impossible, judging by Morty's demeanor.

"Pidgeot, they're Ghost Pokemon. They can be harmful sometimes." My birds were trying to understand what I said. "I don't want them to poke fun at any of you."

My birds then proceeded to discuss with each other. They might not believe what I said, but I should tell them before they had the same unpleasant experiences as what happened to me. After they heard the whole story, they clearly looked disappointed. That was when I began to worry that they might have misinterpreted what I had said.

"No, I'm not telling you all to stay here. The three of you can come with me, but once we're at Morty's house, please stay in the Poke Ball. I'll switch you all out when the time comes."

Although I didn't like keeping my birds inside the Poke Ball, it's for the sake of their safety. Satisfied with my statement, they faced me and nodded a few times as they uttered their names.

"Thanks for understanding me, my birds." I smiled at them, before I continued stepping down the stairs. At the first floor, the sight of Morty standing in the middle of the living room surprised me. He could have waited outside, because he wouldn't catch a cold with his long-sleeved shirt and refined scarf. I stood there, watching him. And when I stay, my Pokemon would do the same. He was gazing the room, before he noticed I was standing in front of him.

"Oh, you have prepared," he said when he saw the bag I carried, "Then, we better get going now."

It would be nice if the birds could join us, but for some reason, I wanted to walk together _only_ with him. So I told them, "You three can go first. Once you all are in Ecruteak, fly around the city. We'll come later."

My Pokemon placed their right wing at their head, giving me a salute. Pidgeot bolted not long after that. Pidgey and Pidgeotto were astounded by Pidgeot's enthusiasm. But soon they flew hurriedly, wanting to catch up with Pidgeot. With my birds had flown away, I was left at my place alongside Morty.

I sauntered towards him as I tried to overcome my shyness. The time I finally looked at his face was when I stood right on his front. But I could only shiver as I searched words to say. In the end, what came out of my mouth was just an "Uh…"

He sighed at my nervous self. My eyes looked to the sides every now and then because I couldn't concentrate well if I faced him directly. He turned around, walking to the door. How strange he didn't ask me to come with him. It turned out that he was just closing the open door. Still, we couldn't go outside if the door was closed. Then he approached me with a subtle expression.

"Morty, why did you-" My mouth closed, as Morty placed his hands hard on my shoulders. He pulled me abruptly into him. When I came into contact with him, he pressed his lips against mine. His hands had wrapped on my back. He tried to bring me closer, despite I already felt his ribs on mine. He would nip each of my lip once in a while. As I became faint, I folded my hands behind his back. He tilted his head, pressing himself deeper. We began exhaling air from our nose in pleasure, while our hands rubbed against the other's spine. It was very passionate, but soon I had a burning sensation in my throat. We found ourselves breathing erratically in the end.

"Mort… you should've done that… once we're in your house," I said as we were gripping each other's shoulders.

"Ah… you're probably right," he responded, "I'm sorry, but you kept me waiting outside for too long."

I never paid attention to the time since when I was packing my goods. It didn't seem to be as long as what Morty said. I had to admit it's my fault because I had to confront Pidgeot earlier. However, he didn't care, he brought me into him again.

My heart would naturally beat faster if I saw Morty at this distance. "Are you going to give me another kiss?" I asked him with anticipation. Another kiss wouldn't hurt anyone, but we had forgotten that we needed to head to Morty's place. I decided not to remind him about it. I wanted to see if he could focus on our destination.

"Well, I wanted to." One of his hands was rubbing the back of my neck. "But I think I could do more than just kissing at my house." He took his hand off me and grinned brightly.

I was glad that he's able to control himself… at least outside his house. Then again, he didn't look like to be the kind of guy who would "attack" someone to the end. Suddenly, I realized something from his words: He would do more than just kissing at his house? That puzzled me a little. Maybe he was talking about what happened at his couch earlier. "What do you mean by that?"

His smile widened, turning into a smirk. It alarmed me for some reason, but then he snickered. "Don't let those words bother you. Trust me, we'll have a great time together." He beamed at me.

I had the tiniest bit of anxiety from the words he said before, but after what he told me, I believed in him. He _would_ give his best for me. "I trust you." And that is because I love him. He lowered his eyebrows, which means he was flattered by what I said. Standing there, I could feel my bag starting to pull my back to the floor. It was time for us to go. "We should really get going now."

He held my right hand. "We should."

I smiled bashfully at my hand. Sometimes I wondered why holding hands could be so affectionate. Although I liked it, people shouldn't see us do that. "Mort, please let go of me."

Instead of letting me go, he dragged me outside. He let go of his hand when we were in front of my house. What an opportunistic person he is! "Shall we go now?"

"I have to lock the door first," I told him. So I took the key from my pocket, locked the door, and put the key back. "OK, let's go." I smiled broadly at him.

And after that, it would be another long walk for the two of us, another walk that would bring us closer, as lovers.

Arrived in Ecruteak City, I saw my bird Pokemon flying around the landmarks of the city. Pidgeot was near the Bell Tower, Pidgeotto above the Burned Tower, and Pidgey over the dance theater. As logically my voice could only reach Pidgey, I moved towards the Kimono Girls' theater. Next to the building, I yelled, "PIDGEY!"

Pidgey took notice of me. He flew down quickly, soon staying on my front. "Pidgey! Pid, Pidgey?"

"Call Pidgeotto and Pidgeot. I will put all of you inside my Poke Ball," I told him.

He listened, and flew to Pidgeotto.

Aware of what I had said, I forgot that Morty was beside me. "Are you that paranoid of my Pokemon?"

I gave him a straight answer, "Yes, actually. Your Pokemon had done enough to me."

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Well, that's your opinion."

Pidgey later perched on my shoulder, while Pidgeotto and Pidgeot stood before me.

"PIDGEY-"  
>"-OT-"<br>"TO!"

I was amazed by their cheer. Though they didn't do that often, they cheered every time they came together at my front. Then I took out three Poke Ball from the bag. I tried to hold two on my right and one on my left. "OK, now get inside the Poke Ball!"

Red lights emitted from the Poke Balls, turning the birds into a red plasmatic energy and absorbed them inside.

"Alright, we can go to your house now," I told Morty. At the door of his house, I thought about what happened after I went inside that door. "Wait, you go in first." Sorry ghosts, but I didn't want to have another dreadful surprise at the doorway. It wouldn't be funny if I were astonished the second time.

Morty chortled before he opened door in front of him. Yes, I preferred being laughed at by my boyfriend than by his troublesome Pokemon. He walked to the doorway, and I followed behind him while being cautious. As I expected, the ghosts popped out of nowhere.

"GAAASTLY!"  
>"HAAAUNTER!"<br>"HAUNTAAAH!"  
>"GENGAAAR!"<p>

"Nice to see you all again!" He said, with a grin. "Listen, I have good news for you all."

I immediately became confused when he mentioned "good news" to his Pokemon. There wasn't any apparent "good news" for them. Regardless, the four Ghost Pokemon were waiting with high expectations. They laughed softly as they faced left and right at each other.

Just like a host of game shows, he shouted, "Falkner is staying with us for three days!"

That could be counted as "good news", but this "good news" didn't have to be announced to those purple pesterers. Obviously, I needed to do a facepalm.

And perhaps because I put my palm on the face too hard, Morty heard it and reacted, "Hey, what did I told you about bonding with my Pokemon?" He wrapped his hands around my neck.

"Yeah, yeah, I know that already…" I looked away with a frown. Meanwhile, I could hear the ghosts' laughter. They must like it when their Trainer supported them to make fun of me. He implied it in his words.

Gastly, the Haunter duo, and Gengar rejoiced after they listened to my response. Gastly circled around me while spinning, like a planet and its sun. The two Haunter were dancing randomly together. And Gengar ran around me with his hands raised to the air. I was simply speechless at the scene. Can I count that sighting as a freak show? Whether yes or no, in the middle of the event, I was calm inside Morty's arms. What made it better was none of these ghost beings knew it.

Again, Morty laughed with them. "Alright, ghosts. Enough with the party." He shook his hands up and down. "You all realized that Falkner here is in a _heavy_ situation. Why don't you all give him a hand?"

They quickly reacted after they heard their Trainer's command. Gengar ran, and took off my bag.

I yelled at the weighty gas creature, "Hey, what're you gonna do to my bag!" But he only laughed with his evil grin big on his face.

The two Haunter threw their unattached hand to me. They waved it in front of my face, which was definitely a bad omen. Then, one pair of hands grabbed my left shoulder and the other pair for my right shoulder. Hence I was lifted. Maybe these ghosts had taken their Trainer's order a little bit, if not too, literally.

"Hey, put me down this instant!" I was more irked than panicked, but then I remembered the brains of these creatures. "Morty, tell them!"

Unluckily, I earned another chuckle from him. "Put him down... in my bedroom!" His forefinger pointed upstairs.

I grouched, not caring about whatever would happen next.

Morty's two Haunter united themselves with their hands. They later flew upstairs swiftly, taking me with them. Dashing through the steep stairway caused me to shriek, since I might hit the walls. It almost felt like a rollercoaster ride for me. The "ride" ended at Morty's bedroom. I noticed Gengar was there with my bag, which appeared unharmed, while as Gastly was on the other side. I was still floating by the Haunter's hands, however.

Their Trainer walked in not long after that, simpering. He approached the ghosts and me. "Put him down now." His Pokemon tittered, so he continued with a detail, "Gently, please." They quickly became quiet.

As their Trainer told them, the two Haunter put me down gently until my feet eventually touched the floor.

"Now, leave. Don't disturb my time with Falkner." His tone suddenly turned sharp.

Alarmed, the ghosts skedaddled out of the room, and Gengar closed the door. It was somewhat odd that Gengar had taken the time to do it.

I was with Morty, accompanied by an awkward silence. As I looked around the room, I was looking for words to say. The bedroom was wide, its walls were painted blue. I saw another door in the room, presumably leading to a bathroom. There was a wardrobe, a desk, and a bookshelf. My attention was finally drawn to the bed. It was a double bed. The bed was covered with a purple blanket, the typical color of a Ghost-type. It was tidy also.

"Nice room," I said to Morty, trying to break the quietness.

He pinched his chin. "Really? I think this is just the usual, ordinary bedroom." With his eyes closed, he smiled proudly. "But anyway, thanks for the compliment. I'm convinced that you'll enjoy being here."

Of course, I believed what he said. I had thought that the bed would be comfy. It surely was big enough for me and Morty to sleep there.

…

Which reminded me, I was going to sleep with him on the same bed! I might have started sweating from thinking what would happen then.

"Falkner? Did something bother you?"

"Ah, n-no. I was thinking a little," I answered, before I did a forced laughter. Then I realized I had to talk about the sharing problem. "Say, Mort, is there any other room where I can sleep in?" I was certain I had seen another door when I was blasting off to Morty's room. "How about the bedroom across yours?"

His smile faded. Was that question a rude one to ask? I supposed that he was displeased that I didn't want to sleep in the same room, or more precisely in the same bed, with him. "Oh, you mean the room across mine?" He pointed his thumb to the back. "That's used to be Eusine's room. But since he left, I decided to give it to my Pokemon."

So I understood that the room belongs to his Pokemon. Hmm, I wondered about how cluttered the inside of that room. I didn't even want to peek it from the outside. It would be unwise to share the room with those Ghost Pokemon. Came to think of it, where should my Pokemon sleep? I asked Morty, "That reminds me, where can my bird Pokemon sleep?"

He scratched his head as he pondered. "Will it be okay if they sleep on the sofa downstairs?"

I agreed. The living room sofa was the second most comfortable furniture in Morty's house, unless I counted the bed in the gaseous pesterers' room. Anyhow, I had brought three blankets to keep my Pokemon warm. They were different sizes, but had the same motif. "Sure. Let me get their blankets."

So I took them out of my bag, and then switched out my Pokemon. They cried their names when they were out. "You all can sleep downstairs on the big couch." I raised my hands, which was holding the blankets for their warmth. "Here, sleep in these. It'll keep you all from cold."

The birds gripped the covering using their talon. They're apparently happy with its softness. Then, they flew leaving the room. Pidgeot helped opening the door, and left. One of the birds would close the door after that.

With my Pokemon had a room to stay, I was the one who still had something to concern. I had no choice but to spend the night with Morty, in the same room, in the same bed. I thought once: Arceus, please watch over me. The grace I had stated made me wonder: what was I so scared about?

"Falkner!"

My head quickly rose to face Morty. "What?"

"Something's clearly bothering you." He leaned forward. "What is it?"

"N-Nothing. I was lost in my own thoughts again," I said to him jumpily.

Hearing my answer, he frowned. It seemed that he had grown tired of me. He even snorted, "Falkner… you should just go get yourself changed." He walked away to his wardrobe without facing me. I was afraid that I had made him mad. He probably might have read my mind. Although it was quite distressful, I wasn't bold enough to do anything.

I reached for my bag, rummaging the inside to find one of my outfits for sleeping. I took out a shirt and a pair of shorts, laying them on the mattress. Then I sat on the bed to take my clothes off, one by one. First my shoes, then my socks, then my wristbands, then my outer shorts, then the inner one, then my jacket, thus I was only wearing underpants and yukata. Modern people would be stunned if they knew how many garments I wear.

I stood up, and put on my shorts. Then I took off my yukata, folding it neatly before I placed it into my bag. As I was folding the yukata, I had the suspicion that I was being watched. I raised my head up, only to find out that Morty, who had changed and no longer wearing his headband, was staring at me. Or was he? His eyes didn't point to my face, in fact his head was bending down a little. He was surely staring at a specific part of me. I groaned, "Mort, what are you staring at?"

For a few seconds, he didn't say a word. He was approaching me, his eyes still staring down, until it became obvious what he had been looking at. "Nice contours, I must say." He leaned forward, smirking.

I lowered my eyelids and snorted when I heard his comment. "You're one meticulous seer, huh?"

He giggled, probably because he didn't notice a trace of sarcasm in my remark. "I guess I am." Again he smiled proudly. Perhaps he was overconfident about himself. "You know, these arguments we're doing tire me. I think we should rest on the bed now." His smirk began to scare me rather than irritate me.

"You mean sleep on the bed now?" I had to be more definite to Morty.

"Yes." He hugged me and whispered, "We should really sleep together…"

It appeared that I wasn't being definite enough. Because the whole arguing tired me, like what Morty mentioned, I decided I should just lie on the bed and drift into sleep. "Yeah, however you say it."

"Do you want to sleep near to the door or the window?"

"I pick the window." It would be pleasant if I could look at the night and morning sky, watching bird Pokemon as they fly through the air.

We proceeded to lie on the bed. Like what I had predicted, the bed was comfortable. Morty pulled the blanket so we wouldn't get cold. The moment my legs were covered, I positioned myself to face the window. I had planned to fall asleep as fast as I can, before he started to make fun of me. Relaxing, I slowly closed my eyes. There was a little bit of tension that I needed to let go. I was sure it originated from the person on the other side of the bed.

Not long after that, I had relaxed. It was helped by the coziness of the fabric I lay on, the tranquility I had been looking for in Morty's house, the warm touches I felt on my breastbone…

_Wait a sec… TOUCHES?_

My eyes opened to see what was on me. On my chests, I saw a couple of hands. Morty was fondling me! I didn't even know when one of his hand slipped through my waist. I had to do something, but I shouldn't wake him up rudely. I turned my head around enough so that my mouth was near him. "Mort, your hands…"

He replied softly, "Oh, you're still awake."

"Of course I am. You were touching me," I explained to him.

"That's normal," he said as he moved himself nearer to me, "I want you to know how much I love you, Falkner." He kissed me on the cheek. I instantly looked away to the window because of that. "I think this conversation is becoming awkward. I need to call you by something else."

At first, I thought he was only talking about nicknames. But at times like that, he must be talking about a term of endearment. I honestly wouldn't want to be called by terms of that kind, for the reason that most of them sounded feminine. However, because I had been calling Morty by a diminutive of his name, I felt that it would be fair for Morty to call me by a romantic term. I sighed before telling him, "Go ahead. What term do you want to use to call me?"

For a while, he thought. "How about baby?"

"You can see that I'm a teenager now. And I don't look as cute as a baby."

"Then how about babe?"

"I'm not some hot girl you found on the beach, Mort."

He thought again. It would be difficult to find the suitable term for me, but so I don't look passive, I decided to provide him an idea. Though it sounded a little repulsive to me. "Mort, why don't you just call me… Falkie?" Ugh, the nickname felt nauseous when it came from my own tongue.

I could hear him snickering behind me. The term probably was too cute in Morty's ears. "That's really adorable. But you're obviously not too fond of it." He snickered one more time. "I'll find the right word for you."

The two of us lay on the bed, searching for a word to be used to call me. There was a big chance that he would end up calling me by my original name, but he appeared insisting to find the term for me.

After thinking for a minute, Morty had another idea. "How about sweetheart?"

"Well that's…" I was shocked. I couldn't make an explanation to counter him. No, I had to keep on trying until he would call me only by my real name. I told myself: Come on, Falkner, think! There's no way you want him to call you that!

But before I could say something, Morty uttered, "Looks like you're alright if I call you that. Aren't you, sweetheart?"

Right when he said that last sentence, my heart was pulsing fast. I didn't understand why. I guessed the word sounded… delightful to my ears? Ah, no way. That would be silly.

During my confusion, he had laughed in victory. "I'll start calling you by this new term." Then he gave my cheek another kiss. "I love you, _sweetheart_."

The term might sound cutesy, but I guessed that it was fine to me. When he said the word… somehow, I felt… loved. I noticed Morty's arms had folded over my chests. His breath was flowing constantly behind my neck and his body made us warm. "I love you too, Mort." That was my last words for that day.

In response of my saying, he cuddled me firmly. I closed my eyes, but then I felt his lips pressed on my neck. Even though he could not see it, I was smiling at that lovely night. I came to realization, that it was wrong to judge him by the regular nature of ghosts. He might be devious like a ghost, but he could be amorous like a human.

_Mort, you are one mystical seer._

* * *

><p>Do any of you have a feeling… that this chapter is a little bit long?<br>That's because this is currently the longest chapter in the story, with nearly 4500 words.

I might have been overly detailed with this chapter, but that was for the scenes in it.

Anyways, please review! I'm really curious with your opinion for this chapter.


	9. Chapter 8a: The Mortyfication

Wow, it's been 4 months… actually 3 and a couple of weeks since the last time I updated this fanfic.  
>So, what happened? In short words, <span>twelfth grade<span> is surely a turbulent period.  
>I finished mid-term two days before I published this chapter and I can't believe I'm still getting visitors.<p>

But I'm pretty sure you wouldn't care about all that… Here's the eighth chapter!

* * *

><p>Chapter 8a: The Mortyfication<p>

I had a peaceful sleep last night. That is, if I didn't count what happened before I slept. And this time, I woke up in the morning with no birds pecking my face. I pulled myself up from the pillow as soon as I was awake. My right hand rubbed the gunk on my eyes, while the other was supporting me to hold up myself. I breathed in and out slowly to relax. But when I looked to my right, I saw that a certain seer who slept on the same mattress with me was not there.

I thought to myself, "What the… did he just abandon me here?"

I let out a groan, wondering why I was left all alone there. Although I was somewhat irked, I was certain the ghost being who had been beside me would not be there without a reason. He must be somewhere in the house, probably busy doing something. I looked at the time, it was 7:30 AM. What was I supposed to do? If I didn't go downstairs soon, I would starve later on.

So I did a bit of stretching before stepping off the bed, first the hands, and then the feet. I rubbed my eyes once again then. Then when I twisted my body to move…

"Oh, you're awake!" shouted a familiar voice. It's obvious who that is. But there's something that caught my attention. He came in carrying a tray, with bowls on it. I guessed that it contained my breakfast. For a breakfast, however, there seemed to be too much bowls.

"Morty, what are those?"

He sat on one side of the bed, placing the tray on my lap. "Please, enjoy your breakfast!" He grinned.

I had the feeling Morty served me a rather extensive Japanese breakfast to me. My head faced down, and there I saw… a bowl of rice and miso soup, dried seaweed, pickles, soybeans, omelet roll, a slice of grilled salmon, and a cup of green tea. There was a spoon and a pair of chopsticks also. I was speechless for a while. It was amazing that he was able to prepare the whole breakfast. "Wait a second, isn't this a _complete_ Japanese breakfast set?"

"Yes, it is." He smiled. "It took about half an hour before I finished preparing them."

Seeing how many ingredients he would have used for the breakfast, it made me feel pleased and guilty at the same time. This was surely too much. I sighed, and told him, "Mort! You could have prepared a regular breakfast for me. You know, like toast served with a glass of milk."

"Well… it's not that I didn't want to serve you those. I didn't know what you usually eat for breakfast, so I decided to give you a Japanese one." He glanced at the meal. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you don't like Japanese cuisine that much."

There went Morty and his habit of blaming himself. "No, no, don't think of it that way. Japanese food is my favorite. What I was trying to say is, you didn't need to prepare this for me. You could have picked something that's less elaborate. Or better yet, you only need to wake me up and I'll prepare everything myself."

He became quiet after the rebuke, his eyes watching the set of food he made. The smile on his face had turned into a frown. His look was so pitiful, I regretted criticizing his laborious effort. "Hmm… alright, I'll wake you up for tomorrow morning," he said as he lifted his head, "But so that you know, I wanted to give the best to you, Falkner."

Clearly, for a breakfast, the Japanese meal was the best he had given to me. He deserved special thanks from me. I remember what he said back then, "_Sometimes, 'thank you' isn't enough as a token of gratitude._" Burned Tower, that's the place where it happened. I felt anxious because this would be the first time I did it to him. I tried to convince myself by saying: Falkner, don't worry! He's your boyfriend! I became a little bit ashamed after I thought about the second sentence.

I smiled to calm myself and placed my fingers on his chin, slowly stroking it. I spoke softly at his face, "You have, Mort." In my thoughts, I asked: Whoa, how come I did that? I closed my eyes as I leaned forward. My heart was beating fast from the uneasiness I felt. With my whole nerve, I brought my mouth forward slowly until the lips touched Morty's. His hands grabbed my jaw unexpectedly then, patting up and down as I held onto his shoulders. He pressed his head so forcefully against me that my breakfast nearly tipped over the bed sheet.

"Mmmmh!" I whimpered as my hands squeezed his shoulders.

Fortunately, Morty was able to stop before the Japanese meal furnished his bed. He soon examined the food he made. "Phew, that was close. I-I'm sorry, I forgot your breakfast was here." He pushed the tray towards me with his smiling face. "There. I want you to savor everything I have prepared." Then he stood up. "OK, you should eat your breakfast. I'll take a shower now." And after that, he went to the bathroom without taking a look at me.

The meal was on my feet, still in its fresh condition from when it was prepared. "Well… time to eat."

I pinched the salmon with the chopsticks, putting it into my mouth. I ate the rice next. As I chewed them inside, the food created a flavorful sensation. I was impressed by the taste of Morty's meal, so I began to chew slowly. The salmon just had to be tasted on its every side. I wondered about what I should eat next after the salmon. My hands went for the soybeans. The spoon took a little amount of them into my mouth. Yum! It was another gift for my taste buds, but there were more on the tray. I increased my eating pace from the anticipation.

Seaweed… pickle… omelet roll, another salmon, all of them with rice…

Sip green tea… then miso soup… How exhilarating…

"Whew… it's been long since the last time I ate an outstanding Japanese meal in the morning," I said as I patted my stomach. I was full and delighted by Morty's creation. There weren't many times where I could prepare a whole Japanese food for breakfast. The tray was there, this time with empty bowls on it. Since Morty had done the cooking, it would sound fair if I did the washing. And I had to do it before his obedience came.

I rose from the bed and took the tray with me. As I passed the living room, the birds were still sleeping. That was something I don't see very often. I spent minutes in the kitchen washing the dishes. I had to do this because I wouldn't let Morty do everything for me. I need to do something for him, at least in return of what he had done to me. "I couldn't always take everything. I wanted to give something to him too," I thought. The tray, bowls, and everything else were put inside the kitchen cupboard. It was time to wake the birds.

I saw my Pokemon were sleeping peacefully, their chest inflating and deflating. For a while, I thought: My birds had always woken me up by pecking, maybe it was my turn to give them a special awakening too… but that means I might get hundred times more peck than when I woke up late. Seems that it was much safer if I just woke them up gently.

"Pidgey…" Pat, pat. "Wake up, Pidgey…"

The little pigeon was trying hard to open its heavy eyes and moved out of the blanket. "Pid…gey…"

To make my bird motivated, I made a sunny smile on my face. "Morning, Pidgey!"

"Gey…" Pidgey gave a faint response. Although he was already standing on the sofa, he looked quite drowsy. His eyes were only half open. Regardless, he needed to wake up first so the other birds could be awakened. It was kind of a chain reaction.

"Pidgey, wake your big brothers up, OK?" I felt that it might be wise if one of the birds woke up Pidgeot. My most elegant bird could be the worst morning attacker if not wakened properly.

"Pidgey… Pidgey…" He uttered beside Pidgeotto.

Pidgeotto slowly pulled himself out with eyes closed, his steps unsteady. "Ottooo…" He stretched his wings wide. There he was staggering with head facing down, and he hadn't opened his eyes.

"Pidgeotto, it's morning now. I need your help to wake up Pidgeot." My voice had become tense.

He slowly raised his eyelids, once in a while he might lower them. He glanced at Pidgeot, who seemed to have a very nice sleep from the smile on his sleeping face. But Pidgeotto just stood there and showed a frown to me. "Otto…Pidgeottooo..."

Pidgeotto thought we had better wait for Pidgeot to wake up by himself. "And when is that? Come on Pidgeotto, he's like your big brother."

"Ttoo…" He sighed. Who knows what would happen if Pidgeot woke up in a rage? More likely his Trainer would get attacked first. Pidgeotto looked afraid, his wings were trembling as they moved near the sleeping bird. "Pidgeot…tooo." He slowly stroked his feathers against Pidgeot, the big pigeon mumbling in its sleep. Another stroke, Pidgeot twisted his body facing my direction. After the last touch, Pidgeot finally got up and yawned.

On the sofa, he appeared as if he was struggling to open his eyes. When they were half open, he gazed around. However, with those lowered eyebrows, it was almost like his eyes warned: Who has awakened me from my peaceful sleep? Pidgeot turned his head, looking at me, then at Pidgeotto, who was trembling beside him. "Pid, Pidgeot?" He asked Pidgeotto what was scaring him.

"Pidgeot, Pidgeotto…" Pidgeotto said that it was Pidgeot. He was afraid by Pidgeot's gaze when Pidgeot woke up.

"Pidgeot?" Pidgeot at first appeared confused, but then he made repeated noises, indicating he was laughing at Pidgeotto's fear.

Pidgeotto was completely quiet when he looked at his laughing bigger self. He seemed embarrassed. Even so, he eventually joined the laughter, and so did Pidgey.

After I bothered to wake up my birds, I went back upstairs. Just when I placed a foot on the stairs, Pidgey cried, "Pidgeeey!"

Again, Pidgey wanted to follow me wherever I go. "Pidgey, you just wait downstairs and spend your time with your big brothers. I'll return here later."

On my way back to Morty's room, I wondered if Morty had finished showering. If he hadn't, he was probably still putting on his clothes.

I stood before the doorway as the door was left open. There I could see Morty was in a towel. So he must have just walked out of the bathroom. He went towards his wardrobe, while I stepped in, standing by the door. He didn't notice I was watching him. He grabbed a black sweater, white trousers, and underpants, placing the garments on his bed. I suddenly had a bad feeling from watching him. But then I thought: What bad thing that could possibly happen if I continued watching Morty? Maybe Gengar would attack me from behind. After all, his room was opposite of his Trainer's. Morty then held his towel, and my question was finally answered…

"GWAAAAH!" I yelled before scurrying out of the room. What did happen? I had witnessed… a buck-naked Morty. Leaning on the wall, I breathed wildly from the sight. I was thoroughly distressed for Lugia's sake.

"Falkner? Are you there? You can come in if you want to." Surely, he would take notice of me if I screamed that loud.

Before _it_ happened again… "Mort! Get some clothes before you start talking!"

"Alright, alright, you don't have to shout that way."

Outside his room, I heard rustles from the room behind me. Morty was strange. Why he wouldn't be embarrassed if he knew I was there?

He called me again few minutes later, "Falkner, will you come in now?"

I stepped into the bedroom, this time Morty was fully clothed.

"You looked embarrassed," he said bluntly.

"What do you mean 'you looked embarrassed'? Of course I was embarrassed! I saw you with no clothes on!" I told him angrily.

After that, I expected him to apologize to me. Though what he said then was only, "Oh, so that's why..."

Urgh, he was really tiresome. "Mort, wouldn't you be embarrassed if you noticed I was watching you all along?"

"Why would I?" He replied, "It's not like you're a girl."

Exactly, how should I explain to him? "OK, think about this. What if I were the unclothed one and you're the clothed one?"

"Hmm…" He uttered as he rubbed his chin. Then he smirked. "What would I do…" His look terrified me for some reason. When he looked at me, he turned his smirk into a smile. "Falkner, we don't have to discuss something like this," he spoke, attempting to change the subject, "Let me tell you, I won't be embarrassed if I see you in the nude. Because you are a guy, OK?"

"Yeah, whatever…"

He chuckled at my response. "By the way, you were blushing back then."

"Is that important?"

"Well, not really," he answered, "But your face was obviously red when you ran out of the room. It was still red when you went back in."

"So what? You like seeing me embarrassed?" My tone became loud.

"Of course not, it's just that…" He moved, placing his hands on my cheek. "You looked cute when you're blushing."

"M-Mort, don't call me cute. You can see that I'm-"

His finger silenced me. "Ssshhh… don't say another word, sweetheart."

That last word… it sped my heartbeat. I grew limp from the tension. He then brought his head closer and smiled at me, while his hands were stroking my cheek. Meanwhile, I was shaking with a flat expression. Soon the hands pulled my face, joining our lips together. He nipped my upper lip, and then the lower one. He pushed his tongue into my mouth next. It twirled against my own, feeling it on the front and sides. Our breath swept against the other's face as we did all that. We breathed for air in the end.

He rested his forehead on mine and said, "You're very cute, sweetheart." I had not been used to the term. It always made me so weak, that it's hard for me to stop Morty's actions. He gave me an affectionate hug, his head resting on my shoulder. "That's only one of the reasons why I love you."

I hadn't said anything to his sweet words. I could only put my hand on his back to hug him. But… why was I so happy when he took me in his arms?

Then I heard what seemed to be a sniffing sound. "Oh, I just remembered!" He moved away. "You haven't taken a shower, do you?"

And looks like I had forgotten about my morning tasks. "Right," came my short answer when I was tense.

Before bathing, I picked up a toothbrush and towel from my bag. I headed for the bathroom, into the shower. After I was sure that the bathroom door was closed, I took off my clothes, placing them on the hanger near the door. I washed myself all over in the shower then. When I finished, I dried myself with my towel, and brushed my teeth. I walked out of the room, finding out that Morty was sitting on his bed. His eyeballs were fixed on me… but not at my face.

I tried not to mind him, so I took my usual clothing from my bag. The uncomfortable atmosphere was still haunting me. My head turned to see the person behind me, who was staring intently at my bare self. "Mort!"

This time, he raised his face to look at me on the eye. "Ah, you don't have to mind me. And have you forgot what I said earlier?"

Grunting at his reply, I grabbed my underwear, but so that he wouldn't see anything, I put it on as fast as I could while wearing the towel. I took off the towel once I wore my pants. Again, I looked back to see Morty who was watching me getting dressed. His half-closed eyes didn't signal any good omen. "Mort…"

"You know, Falkner..." His head lay on his hand. "You don't have to hide that fine body of yours." That ghastly smirk was on his face.

I didn't reply because my mind couldn't fathom the potentially defiant intention in his words. So I wore all my upper clothing, hence I didn't have to be concerned about him.

As always, he ended his worrisome statements with a chuckle. "Sorry for that. Believe me, I won't do anything to harm you." And that ghastly smirk strangely disappeared and turned into an honest smile.

What was Morty planning to do to me?

Then he asked me to go downstairs. In the living room, sat the birds and the ghosts. Gengar leaped and cuddled me all of a sudden, dropping me to the floor. "Gengaaar!"

"Hey, get off! Get off me, you purple pest!" I shouted as I pushed the heavy ghost away from me.

While I was trying to get Gengar off, the other ghosts (yes, that includes Morty) could only giggle at the scene.

"OK, Gengar, that's enough. Take him to the couch. There's something I need to say to all of us," Morty ordered.

Gengar carried me on its head, taking me to the couch alongside my bird Pokemon. He giggled before sitting near his Trainer.

"Falkner," Morty called, "Listen, I feel guilty because I have made you so stressed that you couldn't do your duty of being a Gym Leader. I want to say sorry."

I sighed before replying, "Mort, that already happened few weeks ago. And besides, I have forgiven you."

"I know that, but I need to do something to compensate your absence at the Gym," he said, "So I decided, for today, we're going to our own Gyms."

When he told me to gather in the living room, I thought he would talk about our personal plans for that day. Instead, he made a decision where we were not going to be together. I was impressed of what he had done. "Really, Mort? Wouldn't you rather spend your time with me today?"

"Ah, I certainly would rather do that, but you also have Trainers wanting to spend their time with you." He smiled as his hand patted Gengar. "We can meet again during dinner."

I guessed that I had to thank him. "Thanks, Mort." I stood up, walking toward the ghost crew. Much to my surprise, I was able to embrace him afterwards. My face was buried between the fabrics of his shirt.

"You're welcome sweetheart," he spoke softly, before kissing me on the head and caressing it.

The wonderful moment lasted a while – until I heard snickers around the two of us. Our Pokemon had seen the romance in our relationship. It was kind of embarrassing. I stood from the couch, looking at my birds and grumbled, "Yeah, yeah, laugh as much as you want." Then I said to Morty, "OK, I'll be going to my Gym. But first I need to make a meal for lunch hour."

When I turned myself to go the kitchen, he grasped my hand. "Let me make it for you. What do you want for lunch? Would you like chicken katsu with rice, salad, and miso soup, served with jasmine tea for drink?"

I guessed that he had forgotten what I told him earlier that morning. "MORT!"

* * *

><p>Yes, the title sounds corny. This chapter is a w3k+ chapter which I planned it to be only w2k+.<br>My weakness in writing: Redundancy. That means I will always have to work on my vocabulary.

And what? That was only the first part of chapter 8, so the second part is coming next.  
>If the second part (which comes later) doesn't satisfy you, I will give you something interesting in chapter 9.<br>Um, can I still get reviews?


	10. Chapter 8b: Morty's Experimentation

Wow, it's been _another_ 4 months… and I still get visitors.  
>I said this before. Twelfth grade is surely a turbulent period. There are (too) many tests that I went through when I wasn't working on this fanfic.<p>

Also, there's something I would like to tell you about this fanfic. I used two new stuffs in this chapter, the em dash and the short separator line (I don't know what it's called exactly) in attempt to make the story flows better.

Anyway, thank you for your patience. Here's the second part of chapter 8!

* * *

><p>Chapter 8b: Morty's Experimentation<p>

The following afternoon, I was battling a Youngster. He looked different than the usual Youngsters I battled. The green hat he wore might have signed that he's slightly tougher than them. He owned a single male Nidoran, who had used Focus Energy and beat my Pidgey with a Double Kick. So it was Pidgeotto's turn to battle. I withdrew Pidgey into my Poke Ball and switched out Pidgeotto. Pidgeot was watching the battle with focus.

For the first move, I decided to start with a basic attack. "Pidgeotto! Use Tackle!"

Pidgeotto propelled towards Nidoran. He hit the Nidoran hard with its body, throwing the little Poison-type Pokemon back.

The Youngster appeared panicked when he saw his Pokemon thrown by Pidgeotto's attack. He glanced at me before commanding his Nidoran, "I haven't lost yet. Nidoran! Use Take Down!"

I became worried. If the move were a critical hit, my chance of losing would be very high. Pidgeot was with me. He lowered his eyebrows and pouted.

The Nidoran got back on his feet. He took a few steps back before running at high speed to Pidgeotto. He jumped, striking Pidgeotto on his neck. Pidgeotto fell down from the attack. For a moment, I thought I might have lost the battle because Pidgeotto didn't make a move. Pidgeot then yelled at me, pointing at Pidgeotto. I noticed that Pidgeotto was shivering. He tried to stand up on his own. He looked weak from his slow movement, but I could see the determination he had.

"All right, Pidgeotto!" I praised him enthusiastically. Pidgeot was cheering for him also. "OK. Now, use Gust!"

Pidgeotto cried, before flapping his wings rapidly. A mini tornado formed in front of him, and was launched at Nidoran. It hurled the Poison-type away, Nidoran bounding off several times against the floor and finally stopped near his Trainer's foot.

"No!" The Youngster yelled, "Nidoran!" He dashed to his Pokemon, who was now lying still with mouth gaping. The Youngster's mouth soon gaped too. He patted his Nidoran, but the Pokemon only uttered a low voice. I watched the Youngster telling his Pokemon to get up, but the Nidoran could only breathe under his Trainer's hand.

"Your Pokemon has been defeated," I said calmly. "You have done quite well though. If you could train your Pokemon a little bit more, you'll have a bigger chance of obtaining the Zephyr Badge."

The Youngster glanced at me, and then back at his Nidoran. I could see his eyes were filled with disappointment. He let out a sigh. A Poke Ball was pulled out of his pocket, and he sent Nidoran into the Poke Ball. His sight was now fixed at Pidgeotto. He just stood still with his mouth shut. I had no idea what was going on in his mind. The Youngster raised his head, looking at me. I was taken aback by the sudden enthusiasm he put on his face. "Yeah, I'll do better next time! Nidoran will beat your Pidgeotto, and I'll get my first badge!" He shouted, "You'll see!" The Youngster walked away to the wooden platform, going back down to ground level and disappearing from my view.

"That was one skilled Youngster, isn't he, Pidgeot?"

"Ooott!" Pidgeot shouted in agreement.

Having finished the battle, I sat down, and took the lunchbox from the plastic bag I brought to my Gym. Earlier that afternoon, Morty had succeeded in persuading me so he could make lunch for the afternoon. It was just like he had stated; chicken katsu with rice, salad, and miso soup, served with jasmine tea for drink. The jasmine tea was put inside a small thermos. In addition, there were spoon, fork, and a small cup. Again, the whole meal was too much for me —but too much is always better than not enough, right?

I sat down, staring at the Japanese meal. "Wow, another Japanese food. I'll surely love this day." Its smell drifted into my nostrils. I could already feel it landing on my tongue! I wanted to eat it right away, but then I remembered Pidgey, Pidgeotto, and Pidgeot, who were watching me with a frown. So I grabbed the food from the plastic bag and put it in front of Pidgeot, gathering the other birds.

"Let's eat."

I cut the katsu with the fork, looking at the food. It was well cooked. I could see that from its firm and crispy texture, which drew my appetite. Without further ado, I ate the chicken katsu. I was once again amazed by the tastiness of Morty's cooking. When did he learn how to cook Japanese cuisine anyway? The salad looked fresh too. And after the main course, there were still the warm miso soup and the pleasant jasmine tea…

"Wow…" The birds were watching me. They were obviously jealous that they didn't have a meal as exquisite as mine.

"I would _love_ to have another one of these for dinner…"

Soon after I said that, I heard my birds grunting as they gave me a resentful look.

"Hey, I'm sorry for being self-centered," I told them, "How about this? For tonight, I'll give you all Lemonades for drink."

They lowered their eyebrows, telling me that they were not satisfied with the deal.

"And Berries for dessert… There, happy?"

Their disappointment suddenly vanished right away. My birds flew with a smile, given a hug when they stayed close enough to me.

"Pid, Pidgeot Ot?" Pidgeot asked me about my lunch.

"Yeah, Pidgeot. It tasted really great, thanks to Morty."

"Geoot?" Pidgeot's word translated as Morty's name.

I nodded to assure Pidgeot.

Pidgeot then lowered his head, seemed to be thinking what he intended to say to me. "Ot, Pidgeot Geoot!" He said that it would be a very good idea to thank Morty.

My mind, which had been focused to battles from noon, tensed from the thought of him. "You mean… now? A-as in… call him and say it from the Pokegear?"

My bird Pokemon didn't notice the anxiety in my voice, however. Pidgeot smiled in reply, Pidgey and Pidgeotto cheering for him.

Their support didn't help much for building my confidence. In fact, I could only become more nervous after I pulled out my Pokegear. My heart was beating a little faster as I saw Morty's name appearing on the topmost rows of names, because I put every Johto Gym Leader's names on top of my contacts list. I tapped his name. The last thing I had to do is press the call button.

Questions popped up in my head. How should I greet him? What should I say to him first? How should I thank him? What would we discuss then? And how should I properly end our conversation? Come to think of it, it was as if I was arranging a public speech. It couldn't be this complicated. I was sure that once I start talking, I know what I should say next.

"Pidgeot?" He asked why I hesitated.

I was pretty confused about how I would explain to Pidgeot. I mean, Pokemon are not able to understand human relationships… are they? So I sat there facing my birds blankly. They were clueless about why I didn't do anything. My thumb was already over the call button but it stopped there. Why was this really hard to do? I only need to press the call button, and then I could talk with Morty.

"Pidgeot, I-" My speech was cut by the sudden ringing of my Pokegear.

Rrrring, rrrring. And Morty's name appeared on the machine.

It would be less confusing for me if he called first, because he would have to do more of the talking. I pressed the answer button. "H-hello, Mort." I noticed my very low voice when I greeted him.

"Ah, I'm so glad to hear your voice, sweetheart." He paused. "Say, you didn't sound fine. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. I was a bit surprised that you called me in the Gym."

"I see. Sorry for startling you."

Then he became silent. Perhaps he didn't know what to say next. But I remembered that he's the one who called, so I could ask the following question:

"Uh, Mort. What did you call me for?"

"Well…" His voice echoed. "I want to ask you about…"

When he talked that way, I could tell he had not come up with a worthwhile topic.

"…How you're doing in your battles today."

Hah! That's what we Gym Leaders generally talk about when we didn't have anything good to say. Still, I answered politely, "I have just defeated a Youngster. He was a tough one, though. His Nidoran almost defeated Pidgeotto. What about you, Mort?"

"Ah, it's not much different," he said, "A Lass battled me with a Pidgeotto. It's kind of tricky to beat because Pidgeotto is part Normal-type. Luckily, my Ghost Pokemon knows a good set of Status moves."

He battled a Lass who had a Pidgeotto? Now I got an idea of why he called me.

I heard a laugh then. "So uh, her Pidgeotto made me think of you."

His saying made sense. Since he told me that, I learned if Morty saw Pidgey or his evolutions—or any other Normal-Flying-type for that matter, reminded him of me.

"You missed me, Mort?" My reply came out of nowhere.

"I guess I did." If that was the case, he must have called me because he only wanted to hear my voice. What should I say to that?

I just stood there, holding my Pokegear. Morty probably did the same. I didn't understand why such short words could silence the two of us. Waiting for him to talk, I glanced at my bird Pokemon. They were watching me all the time. I also found out my front most Gym Trainer glimpsed at me every now and then. But if this persisted, my hand would soon become tired, so I managed to tell him, "I missed you too, Mort." He might not know it, but I was smiling tenderly on the Pokegear. Those words sounded so simple yet worth a lot of solicitude.

"Falkner, thank you. That's all I need to hear from you for now," he spoke softly, "Uh, I'll see you at dinner."

"OK." I was running out of words. "Love you."

He hummed briefly. "Love you too, sweetheart."

Click! Beep, beep, beep.

And that's how it ended. I was smiling so widely at the floor from the satisfaction I felt. We only talked about trivial things, but if it finished with such precious words, then it would become meaningful. Which reminded me, I had said the L-word by my own reflex. I wasn't aware that I was in my Gym, surrounded by the Gym Trainers. My smile quickly disappeared as I asked myself: Oh no, what if they heard something they were not supposed to know?

So I checked them to make sure. Apparently, only Ivan, the Trainer who had been gazing at me before, heard the words I said to Morty. He was holding his mouth, staggering. I could tell he was trying to hide his laughing.

"Ivan!"

He immediately turned at me. "S-sorry, Falkner. I didn't mean to overhear your talk with your new girlfriend." With eyebrows raised, he made an apologetic smile.

I sighed knowing that he did hear my conversation with Morty. What ever would happen if Gym Trainers start spreading rumors about their Leaders…

But wait—did he mention girlfriend? _Girl_, not _boy_? Then that could only mean…

He didn't pay enough attention to notice that I was talking to Morty! Whew, thank Lugia he didn't know the person on the Pokegear was none other than the Ecruteak City Leader.

"Yeah, yeah. Seriously, keep it to yourself and get back to battling."

"I will!" He winked an eye while showing his thumb.

Hopefully he would be able to keep his words. With that handled, I could focus back on battles and wait until dinner time.

-_ooooooo-_

Before I went to Ecruteak, I did a few things at my house. I feeded my birds, and gave them Lemonades and Berries like they wanted. Also, I had taken a shower there, because after what happened earlier, I didn't think it's very safe to take a shower at Morty's place. As for my birds, I kept them inside the Poke Ball.

At 8:00 PM, I stood at Morty's front door. He had told me I could come in as soon as I arrived. Also, he assured me that the ghosts wouldn't be in the doorway when I came. So I opened the door, and stepped in. Regardless, I was still being cautious. I walked forward step by step in case there would be unexpected… or should I say undesired surprises waiting for me.

Oddly enough, what Morty had told me was true. I was already near the living room, but the ghosts didn't appear out of nowhere. What was weirder, there seemed to be nobody home. It was too quiet for a house filled with pesky ghost Pokemon.

Wondering why, I suddenly heard a voice calling my name. "Falkner!"

I noticed Morty was standing by the dining room.

"Would you please come over?" He said—before he went away quickly.

Yep, I knew he had planned something for me. And the only way to find out was to go to the dining room.

And what did I see? There were salmon teriyaki, bowls of rice, miso soup (yes, it was the third time), a variety of sushi, completed with salad, and ocha on the table. Another set of Japanese food! Only this time, there were candles in the middle. I was about to say something like 'Could you stop with the Japanese food?' to Morty. But apparently, he was standing next to a chair far from me. It was then I realized there were only a couple of chairs around the table. One across the other.

He pulled the chair and said, "Falkner, please sit down."

Guess I didn't get a single chance to say anything, so I just walked to the chair.

When I was directly behind the table, Morty pushed the chair forward. Finally, I sat down.

…uh, why was I being treated like a lady?

I pointed a frown to Morty, who had sitted across my line of sight.

"Is something wrong, sweetheart?"

That word again. It swept my frown away. I didn't get how a single word could calm me. I even looked away, facing down. "It's nothing, Mort."

"Oh, okay then." I found it quite odd for him to not ask me further. "Falkner, I want you to look around the table."

I had already seen what was on the table. It was that Japanese food again. Having mentioned that, I remembered earlier that afternoon I said I wanted to have another Japanese meal. Still, there was something that kept distracting me—the candles. They weren't the long, tall kind that could be found in costly restaurants. They were the short kind that placed in a small glass cup. Even though the flame was small, it was bright enough to light up the dark dining room. But in this darkness… I felt something unusual within me. Although I couldn't describe it clearly, I knew I felt peaceful. Those candles gave quite a mystical aura.

"Falkner?"

I raised my head somewhat abruptly to face him. "Y-yes?"

"How do you feel right now?"

I was flattered by his gentle tone. "Uh… I don't know how to say it, really."

"Hmm, it looks like you can't say much at this moment. Well then, I want you to enjoy the food I've made."

Without anymore chat, we began eating. The taste? It was as delicious as the ones I had for breakfast and lunch earlier that day. Seriously, where and when did he learn to make all of these? Perhaps he was a natural cook. Even so, it wasn't the right time to ask him that. It was better that I didn't say anything and appreciate his effort of preparing all these for me.

In the end, I got what I had wished for. One day with only Japanese cuisine. When I finished, I became aware that Morty had finished before me. Not to mention he was staring me all this time.

I snorted and closed my eyes, lifting a cup of ocha to drink it. I opened an eye to check on Morty. He was still facing me, but now his arm was on the table with his head rested on the palm. I closed my eyes again. After drinking the ocha, I put the cup and let out a breath of relief. Nonetheless, Morty was on my sight. He had leaned forward, his eyes focusing on me.

"Mort," I said to him as I looked away. "Don't go further. The candles might burn you."

What did I expect? He had leaned to the middle of the table. "Tell me, would you like to have dessert?"

I bent forward. "Well… sure."

Then he grabbed my chin with his fingers, taking me forward. I received a kiss at the end of the dinner. He pulled back a little. What I could see in my view were only Morty's eyes–eyes that always made me feel powerless. Then I felt something damp brushing my upper lip, followed with the lower one. Knowing what he wanted, I stretched out my tongue to his. To me, the sensation was perfect for a dessert. That kiss was sweeter than any dessert I could have.

"Thanks for the dessert, Mort," I said shyly.

He brought himself further to me despite his position on the table. "You're welcome, sweetheart," he whispered, before placing another kiss on my cheek. After that 'dessert' we had, we pulled ourselves back to the chairs.

And there came that silent moment where we just looked at each other's faces…

"Falkner, are you feeling sleepy yet?"

"I think so. I feel tired after the battles from the afternoon and the dinner I had."

He stood up, walking to me. He stretched a hand towards my direction. "Shall we go to my bedroom then?"

I didn't answer right away. I observed his eyes to see if he had other intentions in his mind. There didn't seem to be any. Moreover, his smile was too charming to conceal his shady thoughts.

"Falkner? Is there something wrong with me?"

"Oh no, no. I was just doing a simple observation of your facial expression."

He sighed hearing what I said. "Falkner please, don't worry. Trust me, you'll be fine. I promise that tonight I won't do anything weird to you, OK?"

"Alright," I answered, "But if you do, don't get confused if I didn't come back here tomorrow."

"Yes, I understand. Now come to my bedroom with me, please?" He asked with his palms joined beside me.

"Sure… whatever you say," I replied, rolling my eyes.

_-ooooooo-_

I was finally in the bed with Morty again. Of course, I had scolded him once before I got on the bed. What happened? Well, think about what Morty would do when he wasn't doing anything and I was changing to my sleepwear.

Lying next to him, I didn't want to sleep yet. So I gazed out to the window. Somehow, the image of the sky never bores me. It made me think of what my dreams are, what I want to achieve, what I like to do, and how Flying-type Pokemon travel from one place to the other. Wouldn't life become much more exhilarating if we could fly anywhere easily? Exploring various places, that truly sounds like an adventure. My father was one of those explorers, but sadly, I had yet to see him return.

Whenever I thought about my father, I would get emotional. Sigh…

"Sweetheart? You look quite sad. What is it?" It seemed that Morty heard my breath.

"Uh, it's kind of personal. I don't want to talk about it now," I explained to him. "Sorry."

"I see… Some things are better be kept secret."

Maybe he was right. What I needed to do was just let go of my worries and sleep. With my eyes closed, I tried to drift into sleep state. Though I could feel Morty's hands stroking me gently. He was embracing me from my back. His palm trailed against the soft material of my shirt. His touches felt so nice.

And strangely, my mind told me to sleep, whereas some other part of me told me to stay awake. Soon I felt Morty's breath on my neck. At one moment, I even felt that he sniffed there. Feeling the air, something soft dropped behind my neck. It slowly moved back and forth. Eventually, I realized that it was Morty's nose. Then a bigger stream of air swept behind me. I guessed that it was the breath from Morty's mouth. His breath sounded heavy.

"Falkner…" He whispered.

My eyes quickly opened wide after hearing that voice. The next thing I felt was a tongue at the area below my ears. As it slowly moving up, I whimpered out of my own reflex.

_Oh no. What is he trying to do?_

I began to tremble when I felt a hand fondling the skin at my chest. I didn't even know when that hand crept inside my shirt. The tongue that had dampened my ear moved to lick my neck. Feeling all of this, I felt myself becoming weaker.

"Mort… aaahh…"

I knew I shouldn't have moaned that way because it would only make Morty lose his control. He was licking my jaw. I squirmed as his hand slid down to my waist.

"Oh, Falkner…" came his faint voice again. He then gave a quick kiss on my cheek.

At this point, I became very anxious. I had to act before he made me fall into him, though it wasn't easy with his tender caress he did to me. When his hand had moved past my waist, I thought it was the time for me to do something… or he would go beyond my limit.

"MORT! NO!" I shouted as I shoved his hand away.

I sensed his body moving back. He must have been startled by my sudden yell. I turned to face him. "Mort, have you forgot what you said during dinner?"

"Frankly, no," he answered blatantly, "I was just doing a simple experiment of your physical reaction."

What. Oh, great Lugia. "Wait, are you saying you did that on purpose?"

"Yes!" His usual proud smile was on his face.

"Well then… guess I'll have to spend the night at my place for tomorrow."

"D'aw, sweetheart!" He shouldn't have used that term in a time like this. "Really, I'm sorry. It's just that I love to fondle you, OK? Please stay with me for tomorrow night."

If I counted how many times he had groped me, I would have rather stayed at my own house.

"Sweetheart? Forgive me? Pleeeease?" He begged as he held me tightly in his arms. It's not so often I saw a grown man like Morty begging to me like a toddler.

Of course, it was always better to accept the apology of others… humph. "Yeah. Now go to sleep!"

"Aww, thanks sweetheart." He kissed my cheek again. "I love you."

"I love you too, Mort," I replied softly. "Now go to sleep!"

* * *

><p>Chapter 8 is complete.<p>

Chapter 9a has been posted...


	11. Chapter 9a: Jumping Skills

Kai: Hi there! I'm Kai, Blair's favorite Mudkip! :D

I'm here to announce this _special_ chapter! Why is it special? Well, I don't want to spoil too much here…  
>Simply put, Pokemon play a significant role here. Why? Find out by reading the chapter below!<p>

* * *

><p>Chapter 9a: Jumping Skills<p>

It was the third day already—which means I would leave the next day. To make it special, Morty had promised me something we'd never done together before, though he didn't tell what it was. So we had to arrange our schedule for it to happen. Since he planned the activity for the afternoon, he told me to do the Gym duty in the morning. I had asked him if it were just some sort of a lunch date, but he said it wasn't anything cheesy like that. For a moment, I was relieved because that means he wouldn't do anything "weird" to me. Still, I was curious. When I asked him what we were going to do, he only said that it was an activity that I had done often.

And so I had to wait until the afternoon to get a clear answer, which was when I returned to Morty's house.

"GAAASTLY!"  
>"HAAAUNTER!"<br>"HAUNTAAAH!"  
>"GENGAAAR!"<p>

_Oh, the ghosts were there again. Impressive._

A second later, I noticed that I wasn't surprised by the surprise of the purple pesterers. In short, I was surprised by myself this time. Kind of weird, I know.

"Oh, hello, Ghosts. Seriously, I think you all should stop doing that to me. It's getting old."

"Ghaaa?"  
>"Gaaar?"<br>"Hauntaaah?"  
>It looked like they were asking 'Really'.<p>

"Yes," I answered flatly.

"Gaaar…" The ghosts sighed, and looked away. They must be quite upset because their prank wouldn't work anymore. I mean, if they wanted to keep pulling off a prank, at least don't make it repetitive.

"Aw, come on. You ghosts don't have to act pitifully like that. Just tell me where your Trainer is."

"Gaarr…" Gengar shook his head. He seemed really upset. I guessed that what I said sounded too harsh for them. The ghosts just stayed there, unwilling to talk.

Looking at the purple gas creatures, I thought that maybe I should say something to them. I slowly approached the ghosts. "Urgh, alright. Listen, I don't mean to-"

"GAAASTLY!"  
>"HAAAUNTER!"<br>"HAUNTAAAH!"  
>"GENGAAAR!"<p>

I was thoroughly _astonished_—that I threw myself back before falling to the floor. When I saw the ghosts laughing festively, I could feel something inside me was about to erupt…

"THAT DOES IT! I SHALL NEVER FORGIVE YOU, PESTS!"

Shocked at my sudden rage, they flew away upstairs as fast as they could, laughing continuously.

"HEY! I'M NOT FINISHED HERE!" However, they had disappeared… I should have simply called their Trainer. "MOOORT! GET DOWN HERE QUICK!"

After that, I heard rapid footsteps coming from the stairs. He must be coming down hurriedly. When he had appeared in the room, I could see the pests' overjoyed face hiding behind their clueless Trainer. Though I did notice something _very_ different from him…

"Whoa, Falkner. What happened? Did you know your face has reddened right now?"

"YOUR GHOSTS… huff, huff. They… they really irritate me with their plots…" I was exhausted from all the yelling I did.

Then Morty turned around, observing his ever-troublesome Pokemon. They were trying to keep a straight face, despite their shaky smile could be noticed easily.

He told them, "OK, it's obvious you all did something to him. So here's a new rule. Don't mess too much with him." Then he lowered his head, whispering, "Only I'm allowed to do so."

"Mooort, I can hear you from here."

He didn't seem to mind me though. "I will have to put you all inside the Poke Ball for the time being." Having said that, he pulled out Poke Balls from his pocket, and switched them in. What a relief.

Later he looked at me with his signature smile, which always signified his self-confidence… or absorption. "Falkner, I know my Pokemon can be very irritating but believe me, they won't be doing anything harmful to you."

_Yeah, not harmful enough to literally give me a heart attack…_

"You're already familiar with my ghosts' nature."

Despite the fact that I listened to his words, my sight had been fixed at his outfit. That turquoise shirt, with sandy yellow stripes on the arms and waist, paired with that baggy blue trousers, and shoes which had the same shade of yellow as his shirt. Have I mentioned his headband was turquoise too?

"Ah, guess you've noticed it already. I'm sure you still remember my old outfit." He chortled, perhaps because he was entertained by my reaction.

"Well, of course I do! It's kind of unusual to see you in your old outfit again."

He giggled. "Actually, I feel kind of unusual too. Tell me, what do you think?"

I answered frankly, "Uh well, it might look unusual, but I think you still look quite attractive in it."

"What's that you said?"

As expected, he would love to hear my flirty compliments for him. I knew Morty had a little bit of self-absorption. "Mort, I don't have to repeat that word again."

Having said that, he then walked towards me. He stared at my face with that sweet smile, which although I had seen it many times by now, it still made me nervous. Grabbing my jaw, he looked at me eye-to-eye and said, "I heard what you said about me." He leaned forward, and placed his lips on mine, softly. It was rather quick compared to how he would do it in the evening. "I don't know you could utter such a sweet compliment for me," he whispered.

"Mort, you'd better not do that when we're outside…" And that reminded me, "Where are we going anyway?"

He smiled proudly with his eyes closed before he answered, "Falkner, since we spent our time with each other so much, I think we should give some time to our Pokemon too. That's why I decided, for today… we'll go to the Pokeathlon!"

As soon as I heard that word, my mind tried to check if I had misheard what he just said. Morty? In Pokeathlon? Honestly, I didn't think he would suit in an event like that... not that I underestimated him. But this event explained his clothing nonetheless. "You're sure about this?"

"Yes. I actually have always wanted to participate in Pokeathlon, but I felt a bit unsure," he said, "Now that I have someone who actively participate in the event, I thought that maybe it's time for me to give it a try. I could learn a thing or two from you then." As always, he gave a smile when he finished saying something.

"Hmm, that's good to hear. But I don't think you could learn much from me. I only specialized in the Jump competition. And as far as I know, Ghost-type Pokemon won't do well for the Jump Course."

He was eager to learn more. "Ah, you can't expect one Pokemon to be good at every course. Then which course should I try?"

"You could opt for the Skill Course. I think your Pokemon will do much better there."

"I'll give it a try," he responded, "But this means we'll be participating in separate courses." He appeared somewhat disappointed.

I had to come up with an idea so we could meet each other at the Pokeathlon, although I wasn't sure what to do. I had to take part in the Jump Course, whereas he had to take part in the Skill Course. We couldn't duplicate ourselves so there would be two of us in the same competition… oh wait. I knew what to do! "Mort, I got an idea."

"That's great. So we could still meet then?"

"Yeah. We can participate in both Jump _and_ Skill course and still see each other! You just have to pick which one you want to try first."

His eyes widened. Haha, he must have not expected me to come up with a bright idea. "Ah, that's it! Why didn't I think of that earlier?" He hurled a palm to his head.

"So, which course should we try first?"

"Well, since you said you specialized in the Jump competition, I'll say we try that first. That way, I can see how competitive you are."

"Good idea. Then we try the Skill Course afterwards." I had never tried the Skill Course, but hey, I wanted to know other events in Pokeathlon.

"By the way, have you had lunch yet?" He asked.

"Well, since you said we're not going on a 'lunch date', I had one before I came here," I answered. "What? You haven't?"

"No, I have. I was worried that I'm going to take you out with an empty stomach." He chuckled a little, before letting out a deep breath. "Well, everything's settled. We'll be going soon, just let me pack a few things before we go."

-oooooo-

Once we had prepared, Morty and I went to the Pokeathlon Dome from my house. Yes, _my _house. Knowing that we would be competing in Pokeathlon, I realized that I had to bring food and drink for my Pokemon before I go. It would be a disadvantage for them if I couldn't give them some snack when they're exhausted. Anyway, we decided to go to the dome by cycling. Other than our Pokemon, their Trainers need to have exercise too. I figured that it was the best time, because later we would only stand while cheering for our Pokemon, and that wouldn't take as much effort as cycling.

When we arrived, our bicycle would then be left in a parking area near the building. Guess who was amazed when the two of us stood before the Pokeathlon Dome. "Wow, I'm finally going to compete here for the first time," he commented, "To be honest, I feel kind of nervous."

"Hey, don't worry about it," I replied, trying to reassure him. "Just act like the confident guy you always be, and I'm sure you'll do just fine."

"Hmm, okay. I'll try," he said, probably not noticing the sarcasm in my words.

And so we lifted our feet from the yellow Poke Ball tile, walking through the glass door into the dome. Morty and I stopped at the neon-lit pathway—allowing Morty to admire the grand interior of the entrance hall. As he was busy observing the dome, I was busy observing every single movement of his face. His head turned slowly from left to right, intently looking at the features of the building. Occasionally, his jaws would drop before immediately rose again, perhaps from saying things like 'wow' or 'whoa'. The sight of Morty's amazement was enough to amuse me.

"Wow," came that word again. "I must say, this dome is… stunning," he commented as his eyes still gazing the dome's interior.

"Mort, really," I retorted. "You've never been here before?" I asked him to clear up my confusion. It sounded strange that a Gym Leader had never come to the Pokeathlon, at least as a spectator.

"No," he answered flatly, "I told you this is my first time." He finally looked at me though.

"Not even to simply watch the competition?"

He blinked, focusing his attention back at the hall. "I've watched a little footage of it on TV, but here, no."

Having my questions answered, I thought I shouldn't talk about Morty's first participation here again. Instead, I should oblige him to join the competition. So I grabbed his hand, and with the eyes of determination, I told him, "Mort… let's not waste our time here. I'll take you to the counter."

He only gaped at my bold enthusiasm. But then he smiled, and nodded.

We strode toward the center counter, our feet moving over the flashing pathway of light, and I looking resolute. If I were to remember what my face looked like during that moment, I would probably burst out laughing.

"Welcome! This is the reception for admission." It was the same greeting I heard each time I came here. "Leader Falkner, I would normally admit you to the Jump Course, but I see that you also bring Ecruteak City's Leader here."

I chuckled as my eyes were pointed at Morty. "Yes. You see, it's his first time."

"Ah! Well then," the receptionist lady joyfully replied before turning to him, "If you need any information about the Pokeathlon courses, I'll be happy to provide it to you." She ended her words with a grin, the kind of grin Trainers see on Nurse Joy's face everywhere.

Morty smiled back at her, and it was the usual 'proud' smile I saw.

"Now, which course would you like to try? Will you two be participating in the same course?"

"Yes, Jump Course please."

She giggled with her hands covering her mouth, which popped up questions in my head. "I had thought that you two would be participating in the same course. You two seemed to be very close friends!" She said in a cutesy tone, "Judging by how you… hold each other's hands." Then she giggled again.

I slowly lowered my head… and I found out that I was holding Morty's hand all this time. So I let go of his hand slowly, because I didn't want him to think I disliked holding hands with him. Good thing she only thought we were only close friends. Very, VERY close friends in actuality. "Ah ha ha…" I forced a laugh. "I guess we are."

The lady gave a modest smile to us. "For your information, the Pokeathlon will begin in twenty minutes. In the meantime, you could practice with your Pokemon at the area to the west of the dome."

Morty and I decided to practice for the Pokeathlon then, especially because Morty needed to learn some basics of the events. We withdrew Pokemon who would be competing with us from the PC box. To my surprise, Morty had come up with a team of Ghost-type Pokemon, one which I never heard of before.

Outside the building, we switched out our Pokemon. Mine were Pidgeot, Swellow, and Staraptor, while Morty's were Gengar, Mismagius, and Dusclops. Looking at Morty's ghost Pokemon, I really hoped that they wouldn't be too much of a nuisance later on. Gengar was naughty, Mismagius was mischievous, and Dusclops… this ghost gave me goose bumps. Regardless, we led our Pokemon to the practice area. It wasn't really crowded, probably because it's 4:30 in the afternoon and people were busy hanging out somewhere else. I saw Trainers, or Pokeathletes in this case, actively exercised their Pokemon. I picked a spot closer to the waters. After thinking about what I should say, I was going to tell Morty the guideline of the Jump events.

"FALKNER! MORTY! HEY!" A familiar voice shouted our names.

We looked to the side, and saw a kid—or maybe a young teenager, waving his hand. He had lavender hair, donned green clothing with yellow tie, and a pair of brown shoes with notably long socks. He was running toward us. But an important item was notably missing from him, his net.

"Bugsy?" I replied first, "Are you here for Pokeathlon too?"

"Of course! Why else do I be here for?" He answered with his cheerful tone. Bugsy had always talked with that energy by the way. I guess that was natural for a boy of his age.

My eyes widened. Perhaps I was wrong about thinking other Gym Leaders had never come here. "Wait, you've been participating for the Jump Course all this time?"

"Yeah, but I'm sure you've been competing more often."

"Really?" I responded, although that question sounded kind of underestimating. "How come I never see you during competition?"

"Well…" He thought, rubbing his chin. Suddenly, he frowned, and stared distastefully at me. He even folded his hands. "Maybe that's because you're already in the Supreme Cup while I'm still a newcomer..."

"Huh?" I was taken aback by his change of mood. To clear up, I truly had no intention of condescending him. "Bugsy, no. I didn't mean to look down on you. I was a little bit confused," I explained to him in an apologetic voice. "Sometimes, I just wanted to have a friend when I saw my Pokemon competing. It's not really fun to watch the competition alone, you know."

The look on his face changed again. He looked confused now, but then he chuckled. "Falkner, it's all right." He had got his cheerful character back. "Don't take my reaction so seriously. I was just surprised that you would talk that way to an amateur like me."

"Oh, I see." I faced down and scratched my head, feeling somewhat embarrassed. But well, I learned something from Bugsy; I should watch my words so I wouldn't underestimate someone unintentionally.

"Ah! Morty, I totally forgot about you!" He finally noticed Morty's presence. "It's nice to meet you too!" And it was my turn to be quiet and watch the conversation.

"It's nice meeting you here, Bugsy," he replied, showing Bugsy his signature smile.

"I don't know you've been participating here too," Bugsy retorted bluntly, his mouth agape with a gaze of wonder in his eyes.

"Oh no, no." Morty shook his hands in response. "Today will be my first time. I absolutely have no experience, which is why I come here with Falkner. So I could learn a thing or two from him."

"That's an excellent idea! I want to be tutored by Falkner too!"

Hearing his words, somehow I felt proud of myself. It was kind of strange. I was smiling in my thoughts, but Bugsy and Morty would probably notice it soon. Nevertheless, I would be more than willing to share some of my _proficiency_ to them. Hehe. "Ahaha, you don't have to-"

"Wait a second," Bugsy interrupted. "Morty, are you participating for the Jump Course like Falkner and I did? Cause I think your Pokemon will do better if they compete in the Skill Course."

"Yes. It's so that I can watch how Falkner compete, but I'll try the Skill Course later."

"Oh, guess I'm lucky to be here today. I get to see how a professional would compete in Pokeathlon!" Bugsy looked really excited to see my Pokemon during the competition.

I wasn't self-conscious as I heard them talking. But I knew I made an unusually wide smile, my eyes staring at the sky. My left hand was on my waist while the other patting my jaw. Professional… the term Bugsy used for me. When I was thrown back to reality, I realized something; I had never expected that I would make such a conceited posture like this…

"All right, you two. Enough with the compliments," I said as I rubbed the back of my head with eyes closed, facing down. Although I certainly didn't mind hearing them idolize me more… "I'm going to tell you some important aspects of Pokeathlon, so pay attention!" I might have sounded like an expert, but then again, I _am_ one, right? At least to Bugsy and Morty…

-oooooo-

After a long period of instructing and preparation, Bugsy, Morty, and I, found ourselves standing together on the Pokeathlon field. As I stood firmly on the field, Morty was gaping at the enormous digital scoreboard in front of us—and his mouth had already been that way since we entered the Pokeathlon field. Bugsy? He was spreading his broad smile to the world as always.

"Welcome to the Pokeathlon!" Maximo, the Pokeathlon announcer, shouted exuberantly at the audience. "This afternoon's event, the Jump Course!" Then all the audience gave a loud applause, which agitated Morty as he focused his attention to Maximo.

"Who will shine brightest? Let's meet the competitors!"

"The Gym Leader of flight appears! My dad's Pokemon really soar!" I yelled my signature quote. "Team Falkner! Swellow, Pidgeot, and Staraptor!" The audience would then give me a big applause with loud scream as always.

"The Mystic Seer of the Future is here! And I foresaw victory upon my vision!" Morty shouted. Yeah, I had told Morty during practice that he should think of his own quote. "Team Morty! Gengar, Mismagius, and Dusclops!" Despite being a newcomer, Morty received a rather high-pitched scream from the audience… which puzzled me until I learned that Morty might have fangirls all over Johto.

"With my bug Pokemon's skills and my knowledge, I believe we can win!" Bugsy's quote sounded simple in comparison, but he was able to show his self-confidence. "Team Bugsy! Scyther, Beedrill, and Butterfree!" He received a mild applause from the crowd. Still, it didn't wipe the joyful look on his face.

The fourth competitor was a Camper named Jakey. His team consisted of Murkrow, Ledian, and Gligar. Although the crowd gave him a lively applause, his Pokemon didn't seem to be much of a threat to me. But no, I wouldn't underestimate another Pokeathlete again.

"All right, we're ready! Aim for the top! Let's… POKEATHLON!" Maximo announced, marking the start of the competition.

-oooooo-

First event, Lamp Jump. Pokemon bounce again and again while touching lamps to score points. For this event, I taught Morty and Bugsy that their Pokemon should jump high and aslant so they could score high streak of points. They should also take care not to hit each other, as Bug and Flying-type Pokemon generally don't recover quickly after collision. I don't know for Ghost-types though, they might resist better, but aren't most Ghost Pokemon gaseous by nature?

"PIDGEOT! AIM MORE LAMPS!"  
>"MISMAGIUS! I KNOW YOU CAN DO BETTER!"<br>"GO, MY BUG POKEMON! WE CAN WIN THIS ONE!"

Those were some of the quotes I heard—or remembered while I was watching my Pokemon. We Pokeathletes had our own special spots in the field, situated near the event zone so the Pokemon could hear their Trainer's cheer. Oh, the Camper also shouted for his Pokemon, but since he and I were placed at other ends of the field, I couldn't hear what he shouted. I might not be able to see how he did as well. But even if I could, did I have to?

That sounded rather underestimating… Anyway, my bird Pokemon did a satisfactory performance for this event. They were able to make a good number of five points streaks. Morty's ghosts did quite well. Although Gengar and Dusclops couldn't jump very high, Mismagius did an excellent performance for this event. Bugsy's Pokemon didn't appear troubled at all. They jumped left and right for the lamps, earning fair number of points. And why was I reporting this? Because this _tutor_ was responsible of reviewing his _trainees'_ performance.

Second event, Disc Catch. This is the only event in Jump Course where Pokemon teams could interact with one another. That means real competition! There were two important things I said to Bugsy and Morty; jumping and pushing.

My birds were struggling vigorously during this event, perhaps too vigorously. They pushed other team's Pokemon off the platform a lot. It was probably because I forgot to tell them this wasn't the Supreme Cup.

Gengar and Dusclops had difficulty catching the discs, so Morty relied more on Mismagius. Bugsy's team of insects moves around here and there fast. They pretty much went for any nearby discs they spotted. And now that every team's Pokemon competed in one arena, I could see Jakey's Pokemon team. They did… just fine. They seemed to have come up with their own strategy though, which is staying at the front. This made them score lower points, but was quite effective to prevent other Pokemon teams from earning them.

In the end, my Pokemon dominated this event, but surely the other three competitors could tell why. My voice became a bit raspy at this point… guess I found out why my bird Pokemon were struggling too vigorously back there.

Final event, Hurdle Dash. This is basically like a human's hurdle race. I didn't tell much for this one. Simply jump right before the hurdle, and the Pokemon would run faster.

Morty's Pokemon led the start of the race. Bugsy's and mine had to jump a few hurdles before reaching top speed. Halfway through the track, Bugsy's team were in the lead along with mine, aiming for top three position. The insects looked more eager to win against the birds.

"FASTER! YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO LOSE THIS ONE TOO!" And so did their Trainer…

I had been watching Bugsy more, his enthusiasm seemed growing from one event to the next. His Pokemon slowly made their way ahead of mine. Later on, I had a feeling that my Pokemon wouldn't shine for this event…

"YEAH! WE WON! YOU ALL DID A SUPERB PERFORMANCE!"

Bugsy's Scyther amazingly finished in first place, whereas my Pokemon finished somewhere in the top six. It was a completely different story for Morty though. His team was among the last four Pokemon to finish the race, one of them was Jakey's Gligar. Looking at Bugsy's elation, I thought that he would definitely make a great rival if he managed to climb his way to the Supreme Cup.

-oooooo-

"Great job athletes!" Maximo announced, indicating the end of the competition. "Which team fought the hardest? We've got the final result!"

I was standing in front of the enormous scoreboard, with Morty, Bugsy, and Jakey… wait, are names like these popular? Okay, that was merely a coincidence. Our Pokemon were lining behind us for the scores. Morty appeared uneasy, as if he had realized his Pokemon didn't do very well in the event. Bugsy showed his big smile to the audience again. I was rather calm, and certain that I would win.

"But first… who's overflowing with fighting spirit? A Challenge Bonus for Pokemon and Team!"

I got 27 points, Morty 31, Bugsy 28, Jakey 32. Lower points means better team. That's why Pokemon with weaker Pokeathlon stats were awarded higher points; they struggled harder to beat the stronger teams.

"Continuing on, the individual prizes!" Maximo shouted. "There wasn't one this time…"

There could be the No-Miss bonus, but other times it wasn't there.

"Moving on… the points leader!"

I had anticipated that one of my birds would get this one.

"Team Falkner's Pidgeot!" That's twenty points for my team.

_Pidgeot, I'm truly proud of you. I always have…_

"Next up… the prize for effort!" Normally, this would be based on how many times a Pokemon jump. "The Pokemon that failed the most…"

Sometimes I questioned why there was even a bonus for failing in Pokeathlon… Obviously, it could be rather disheartening for new Pokeathletes.

"Team Morty's Dusclops!" That's ten points for Morty's team.

_Congratulations for him I guess? I hope he wouldn't be dispirited because of this…_

"Finally, we'll add up the event points!"

The scoreboard rose slowly whereas the Athlete Points number increased fast. It would stop three times, denoting the total points received by the first, second, and third event. Still, by the second event, a certain person's score increased further than the other three competitors…

"The overall winner, with 376 points… Team Falkner!"

Bugsy was second with 324 points, Jakey third with 301 points, and… Morty was last with 260 points.

Knowing that I had won, I couldn't help but showing a triumphant smile. I didn't feel much special, but I was proud of my Pokemon. And the crowd gave a loud applause too.

"Falkner's team once again dominated the Jump Course!"

Maximo was right. I had won many times in the Supreme Cup's Jump Course. Logically, he wouldn't expect me to lose in the regular cup, would he?

"That was a wonderful performance! Keep aiming to be the top Pokeathlete! That is… Pokeathlon…" and all together the crowd would shout, "FOREVER!"

* * *

><p>Kai: So I herd u all had to wait 4 months again?<p>

Uh… I'm not involved in this. I only knew this story had been updated slowly lately.  
>Anyway, Blair only told me to present this chapter. So I don't know how to explain that.<p>

Leave reviews if you like. The review box is down below!  
>(If you <strong>have an account<strong>, I'd recommend you to **log in first**. Blair always responds to reviews, you know.)


	12. Chapter 9b: Comfort Zone

I'm back! Surely you all have met Kai, my adorable Mudkip. I hope you like the Pokemon-focused chapter he announced for you.

I actually want to _clarify_ some things here including my absence, but I'll let you read this chapter first. This time, it's focused fully on the Trainers!

* * *

><p>Chapter 9b: Comfort Zone<p>

"So that's how a top Pokeathlete compete…" Bugsy commented as we walked to the entrance hall, "I wouldn't be surprised if you won, but I think your Pokemon have amazed me!"

"You're right, Bugsy," Morty responded, "His Pokemon are experienced. I have predicted that I wouldn't win this one. My Pokemon are not the right choice for the Jump Course."

I grinned at how they praised my Pokemon's performance during the competition. Even so, I felt ambivalent once I remembered about Morty. I was afraid he would lose confidence for the Skill Course because he was in last place.

"Ahaha, you two don't have to say that. You just have to practice your Pokemon better," I replied to them.

"And give them richer Aprijuice!" Bugsy directly continued. Before we entered the competition, Bugsy was overexcited to teach Morty about the importance of Aprijuice.

"That's right, Bugsy." Then I focused on Morty, who looked a little down judging by his odd smile. "Mort? You're okay?" I put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm worried about you, especially when I saw your Pokemon not doing well during the events."

"I'm all right. It was first try, after all," he said calmly. "You know, I thought you were only focusing on your Pokemon. I could see your team's determination."

"Well, I was. But that doesn't mean I'm putting you aside."

He chuckled, before showing a delighted expression. "That's really sweet of you, Falkner. I appreciate that."

"It's nothing. Besides, it's only natural that we support each other, right?"

"Right. I thought the same as you." We grinned wittily at each other then, much to Bugsy's confusion.

"Oh, what's with this atmosphere?" Bugsy uttered unexpectedly, "I never know you two are this close to each other. How come I just found out now?"

"Ah ha ha…" I forced yet another laugh. "Well, things happened… and now we become really good friends."

"Sometimes people get along before you know it, Bugsy," Morty added.

Bugsy simply laughed to what we said. "I'm happy seeing you two get along." He gave a wide grin. It was such an innocent and childlike reaction he made. Normally, people would pry into _these kinds_ of relationship. "OK, I have to go back to my Gym now. See you next time!" He waved his hand before running toward the glass door to leave the dome.

"Bye, Bugsy!" Morty and I yelled.

Then came that silence again, probably because we were standing together with no one between us.

"First, the desk lady, then Bugsy," I grumbled. "I guess everyone will be surprised if they see us this close."

"I'm sure they will," Morty replied, before he whispered in his ghastly tone, "I, too, was surprised when I fell in love with this elegant bird master…" while stroking fingers onto my chin.

"And I was surprised that I let myself fell to your mystical charms," I whispered back. "Now kindly get your hands off me…" I said still in a soft but clearly-implying-that-I'm-bothered way.

"All right…" He whispered, continuing the witty pattern.

With that flirting session done, it was the time to go back to serious talk. "So, are we going to participate in Skill Course?"

"Of course. That's what we'd been planning," he answered. "Let me talk to the lady this time."

He went to the admission counter then. After he had been a silent person standing next to me before, he managed to talk to the desk lady this time. Few minutes had passed, and he returned, noticeably with something to say. "She said the competition would start in fifteen minutes. We have some time to prepare. Though I hope our Pokemon aren't too tired."

"Well, I'd want to prepare… if I have knowledge of the Skill Course."

"May I offer to acquaint both of you to the Skill Course?" A polite, third voice was heard. It startled me a little, but soon I noticed it was a girl's voice. A girl in kimono was standing between us. It wasn't the first time I saw a girl in kimono though…

"Ah, Kuni! What a good timing!" Apparently, Morty was familiar with her. "Falkner, this is Kuni, one of Johto's graceful Kimono Girls. She performs in the dance theater at my city."

"A Kimono Girl? Are you maybe the one I saw at Violet?" I asked her.

"Oh, you must have mistaken me for Zuki. She does visit Violet City often."

"I see. For a second, I thought you all look alike."

"That was probably because of our clothing. We Kimono Girls happen to wear the same design of kimono, you see."

When I said they looked alike, I really meant their faces were similar with each other. Could they have been sisters?

"So Kuni, will you teach us the Skill Course now?" Morty asked her.

"With pleasure," she answered, bowing to him. "I will start by explaining the general strategy of the Skill Course…"

-oooooo-

To make a long story short, after all the information I learned from Kuni, I ended up in third place—definitely not what I had expected. And so that explained why there was a frown on my face as I strode out of the dome with Morty.

"Falkner? You're okay?" He asked, leaning forward. Now where did I hear that question before?

Consider the following. Kuni taught me every Skill Course event in detail. I had given Skill Juice to my birds. The crowd gave me a big support before the competition, whereas Morty got it mostly from the female audience. Nonetheless, he succeeded to win in first place. I had no problem with that, although I still wanted to at least get second place.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay." I looked at the ground, somehow trying to hide my disappointment.

"Hey, you don't have to feel bad about yourself," he told me, "Your situation was like mine. It was your first time at the Skill Course."

"I'm aware of that, but…"

"Falkner," he interrupted. "I know you didn't win, but do you realize… that you end up in third place, while I was in last?"

"Well, you're right about that." I rolled my eyes toward him.

"Then isn't that something you should be proud of? It means your Pokemon have a good amount of Skill. If you can improve it, there'll be chances that they can win. When I was in last place during the Jump Course, I honestly feel like a complete amateur."

I pondered everything he said to me. Knowing he felt like an amateur did make me feel guilty. Morty was previously in last place, but he had found courage to win. I was in third place, yet I felt ashamed of my team. It was as if… I had scorned Morty's efforts. Having realized my attitude, I became embarrassed of myself. I didn't know what to say to Morty.

"So there's no need to be upset," Morty continued. "How about showing me your smile now?"

I immediately stared at him, surprised by his sudden change of talking.

"Smile, Falkner," he ordered in a childish tone.

I only snorted at him. Really, I didn't like how people make me do something by saying it in a silly way.

"Smile…" he repeated.

This time I grunted at him, somehow telling him to stop.

But then he unexpectedly grabbed both of my shoulders, forcing me to see him face-to-face. He appeared rather firm compared to his behavior before. "Please smile for me, sweetheart," he said in a low—but emphatic, tone.

Soon I felt weak. His eyes had done it again to me. The effect was more powerful than I thought it was. My mouth… it seemed to spread on its own. A smile was slowly formed on my face. But it disappeared when I became self-conscious, and flinched from Morty.

"Thank you, Falkner," he whispered. "Now let's head back to Ecruteak."

I blinked a few times in subconsciousness. His eyes might have distracted me a minute ago, but that didn't mean I became completely speechless. "Yeah. I suggest we use the bicycle."

"Again? Doesn't Pidgeot have some energy to fly both of us?"

"No," I answered sternly, "Or would you rather walk your way back to Ecruteak?" Morty probably noticed the hint of anger in my voice. He should have known that _both_ of our Pokemon had been exhausted from participating two Pokeathlon courses in a row. I wouldn't want to make Pidgeot suffer from fatigue. Moreover, we, as their Trainer, should have some exercise too.

"Uh…" He uttered, perhaps puzzled by my sudden temper. "Then let's ride the bicycle to go back home, shall we?"

"I'll get there first…"

"Pardon?" He quicky stared at me. "Are you… challenging me for a bike race?"

"Maybe?" I twitched an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, what does the winner get?"

"Winner will be treated to dinner by the loser."

Morty only blinked. Then he said, "Falkner, if you want to be treated to dinner, you can just tell me." He chuckled with eyes closed. "But now that you mention it, I actually want to have a lovely dinner with you tonight." He eventually made a wide, convincing smile.

I sighed. I wondered if he always thought that his smile could persuade me to do almost anything… "Mort, my point is the race. We can think about the prize later. But I guess it's better if the winner gets to choose the prize."

"Really?" Morty appeared eager. "Then I am very intrigued to win this race."

"That's the spirit!" I was satisfied that he would put an effort to win the race. But anyway, I had to win this—because I had a feeling Morty had planned something rather unpleasant to me…

And so we took the bicycle which we had parked near the dome, moving them toward the middle pathway. We sat on our respective bikes afterwards.

"Ready?" I asked Morty.

"Yes I am. And you?"

"You bet I am," I replied eagerly.

Then we both focused our attention to the front. I bit my lower lip in suspense, proceeding to start the countdown.

"Three… two… one… GO!"

-oooooo-

AAANDD… I lost. At first, I thought he would go easy on me, judging from his I'm-your-boyfriend mindset. He seemingly did though on the first few minutes. I had been ahead of him, going at medium speed before he started to pick up his pace. My joyfulness soon turned into anxiety. So I moved my feet faster to keep some distance from him.

As I was picking up speed, my feet slowly became limp and sore. Morty didn't seem to be troubled on the other hand. I became worried. We had traveled from the Pokeathlon Dome to Route 37, the route directly south of Ecruteak City. Even though I could see a slight view of the city, I had slowed down. Halfway there, Morty passed by while I was already too tired to speed up. He won the race not long after that.

But in the end, he told something about being a gentleman and so he treated me to dinner in a restaurant at Ecruteak. Apparently, it was a Japanese restaurant! But I heard from Morty that because of the city's traditional heritage, all restaurants in Ecruteak made only Japanese food—another reason to visit Ecruteak other than just to see the city's Gym Leader…

"Mort, I had Japanese food as my all-day meal yesterday and now I'm going to have another again?" I said to him as we sat facing each other under the night sky.

"You can have as much as you want, so long as you're with me." He answered right away. We had ordered, so I was going to eat yet another Japanese meal. Only this time, I'm eating with Morty, face-to-face, at a restaurant, outside with the stars, and he's going to pay for all the expense! I wasn't sure if I could count this as a regular dinner between two _apparently_ single guys.

As time went by, I wasn't able to be talkative. Most of the time I kept staring at the table contemplating. There's too much going on in my head! This dinner—if this didn't look like a date, what else could it be? I didn't know what to do, what to say, nor how to _act_. How did a third person's eye will perceive us? If I talked normally with Morty as if we're just friends, some people might think we're happy lovers. And if I stuttered and being shy to him, they would think I was 'the girl' in this relationship. Oh Arceus, I was having a rather exquisite dinner, yet I was unable to enjoy it...

"Hey, you seem troubled. What's the matter?" He asked kindly.

I lifted my face to him. "It's nothing. I'm fine." Despite what I said, Morty was probably smart enough to know that's a lie—my eyes couldn't focus to him when I talked.

"Really?" He sat upright, staring intently at me. "And just a few minutes ago, you were staring at the table while tapping your finger, or you would scratch your head grumbling."

I was dumbfounded. I certainly didn't expect him to pay that much attention to what I had been doing. "Mort, it's normal for people to do those." It was obvious I hadn't come up with a good explanation.

"Yes Falkner, I know," he replied, "What I asked is—why were you doing that?"

I could refuse to answer him, but he would probably ask me again and again until I told him why. "I'm just feeling a bit uneasy, OK?" I immediately faced down, rubbing my forehead.

"Why?"

I groaned before I replied, "Mort, look at us. You and me, sitting together right now… don't you think we… look like…" And I whispered the last phrase, "A couple?"

"Sweetheart," he whispered back, "We _are_ a couple. I-"

"That's not what I meant!" I retorted. "I asked you about how other people would perceive us." After that, I froze. I didn't expect myself to raise my tone like that to Morty. As I was shocked, I simply looked away from him, feeling guilty. This must be because of the insecurity I felt. I could only hope that he wouldn't misinterpret my reaction.

He stayed silent for a while, but then he said, "I'm sorry."

I slowly turned my head to him, and I saw his face. He appeared rather… down.

"I know I have been focusing too much on our time together. It's just… I feel as if the world belongs to us when I'm with you. Now that you've told me, I finally realized… we're not the only people living in this world," he explained. "Thank you for reminding me." He then gave a warm smile to me.

I didn't say anything after that. Honestly, he didn't have to reply that way to me. I only wanted to know that he had understood what made me feel uneasy in this relationship. Yet he was able to say that much, and even smiled! Perhaps that's why he was always happy, he could smile in a moment like this. And although he might not know it, his smile had always brightened me.

Eventually, our order had come to view. A waitress dressed in kimono was carrying our food and drink on a wooden tray, serving them neatly before our eyes.

"Please, enjoy your dinner," she spoke, bowing humbly.

She would then leave, letting us enjoy our dinner time together. That night was rather cold, so I ordered shrimp tempura udon with green tea as a drink. Morty was savoring his beef yakiniku served on a hot plate, the tempting scent made its way into my nostrils. We were enjoying our food so much that we hardly talked to each other. But we're not supposed to talk while eating, aren't we? The least we could say were merely words of appreciation to the meal we had. Other than that, we would sometimes catch our eyes staring each other. If that happened, I'd quickly look away, and Morty's chuckle could soon be heard. My first date with him had entered a new level of awkwardness…

"Falkner, did you enjoy all the food?" Morty asked after we finished eating.

"I certainly did," I answered truthfully. "And you?"

"Of course. It feels so exhilarating to have eaten a top-quality Japanese food again."

He might have said that, but I always thought that the Japanese meal he made for me had the taste of a restaurant-rank food. I guessed he was only underrating his cooking skills.

"Say, you wouldn't mind having a little _dessert_, right?"

My eyes widened at his unexpected question. "Mort, are you out of mind? Do you really want _that_ right now?"

He blinked, only to burst into laughter afterwards. "I don't mean that. I mean a real dessert, like ice cream." Then he leaned forward. "I can order one portion for the two of us to share. So, how about a red bean ice cream?"

It didn't look like I have the option to say no, so I let out a sigh and said, "Fine."

And to end that dinner, we had a delectable red bean ice cream, which we had to eat from the same cup—yet another unusual sight for other people there. Also, I had expected that Morty would offer to feed me a spoonful of ice cream. Guess what? It actually happened, but I told him there was no need to do that. After all, why would the waitress give two spoons for us? Knowing that, Morty simply snorted.

_Ah ha ha. Sorry, Mort._

-oooooo-

"You go open the door," I told Morty as we stood at the front door, my thumb pointing at the knob.

"Falkner, our Pokemon have been in the Poke Ball since we finished Skill Course…"

"Oh yeah…" I uttered, facing down to hide my possibly flushed face. How come I wasn't aware of that?

He simply giggled at my reaction. "You're really cute. Let me open the door for you."

Although he opened it for me, I urged him to walk to the living room first. I knew the purple pests weren't there. However, I was somewhat traumatic of what happened earlier that afternoon. They might act cute, but I still had to be cautious of their unpredictable behavior.

We decided to sit down on the couch before thinking about what we should do next. I stretched my feet, which were sore from all the cycling I did.

"Hey," Morty called softly. "Tell me, what do you think about our dinner tonight?"

"Umm…" I thought for a while. I could come up with a lot of _shocking_ arguments. I just hoped he wouldn't take it too seriously though.

"Oh, it's okay if you didn't really enjoy it. I just want you to answer honestly," he continued, looking somewhat anxious with my comments.

"Really?" I asked curiously, folding my hands. "Even if I said you make us go to a restaurant in all that sweat?"

"Yes, that's completely fine." He smiled.

I lowered my eyelids. "And the restaurant's atmosphere didn't really fit for our dinner?"

"Uh, it's all right."

I brought my eyelids even lower. "And the food wasn't as great as I expected?"

"I'm not sure…" His smile slowly faded away with each question.

He could barely see my eyeballs now. "And did I mention you make me feel uncomfortable the whole time during our dinner?"

At this point, he had lost the courage to see my face. He could only lower his back while staring at the floor without a word. Soon his head was wholly facing the floor, his fingers touching his forehead in a massaging motion.

I merely observed him by his side. To be honest, seeing Morty overreacted was quite entertaining, but it seemed I had went too far this time.

He crossed his fingers, and finally looked at me. "Sweetheart…" His apologetic tone was clearly evident. "I'm very sorry. I didn't know our dinner was that terrible to you. But, I think what I have done cannot be forgiven. I wanted to have a romantic dinner but I failed it for you..."

I watched him attentively. The way he talked made me feel bad for myself.

"Falkner, what should I do to-"

"Mort!" I stopped him. "Enough already. Listen, I'm not serious about all the things I told you about our dinner."

He gaped at me, appearing totally clueless.

"I made it all up, OK? The dinner was the opposite of everything I said." I made an assuring smile. "You know my love for Japanese food. I truly enjoyed our time."

But Morty still appeared clueless. "So… you only did that to test me?"

"Yeah, you can say it that way." I smiled, almost like how he always did at me.

He only replied with a grumble, but suddenly he propelled forward yelling, "COME HERE YOU TWO-FACED PIGEON!"

Within the blink of an eye, he had grabbed me tightly in his arms, pushing me down, and kissed me forcefully, his lips all over my mouth. I could hardly shove him back in a state like that.

"You…" He said, half panting, "I feel so deceived, I could have eaten you up right now…"

I simply giggled. "Well… I'm smarter than you think, Mort." Then I gave a gentle kiss to him. We eventually stared at each other's eyes, our face virtually joining and my arms wrapped on his back.

"Sweetheart, you really did enjoy our dinner, right?"

"You're still worried about that?" I replied, "I'll make it clear: Yes I did, Mort. I'm definitely thankful of you."

He didn't reply directly, but I had thought the affectionate look of his eyeballs told me everything. "I love you, Falkner."

"I love you too, Mort." He would then embrace me tightly, his head sunk to my side.

I could stay like this for hours without worrying about anything else… I felt very lucky to have experienced this kind of warmth.

But it was interrupted when I heard a sniffing sound close to my ear. Morty lifted his head up, facing me. "Sweetheart, I think you're serious when you said we went to dinner in sweat. You started to smell."

"Huh?" I tried smelling my body, but I didn't think that I smelled. So then I tried smelling Morty's—and perhaps what he said would have been true if he said that we both smelled. "And it seems that you smell too."

After saying that, we let go of our hold, sitting upright. We couldn't possibly be hugging each other realizing that we both reeked.

"We should take a bath," Morty suggested.

"Yeah, you can go first since you're the owner of this house."

"Falkner, I said 'we'. That means I want the two of us to take a bath _together_."

When he said 'together', I felt like my heart just stopped briefly. "What…"

* * *

><p>Wow, I was able to post this chapter in 2 months…<p>

You might notice I skip the details about the Skill competition entirely. That's because I want to highlight Falkner and Morty's interactions this time. I hope my narration makes you want to seek more from this cute couple.

And yes, that is a cliffhanger up there. But trust me, you'll thank me later. Also, Kai might make a return appearance in future chapters.

Review... WAIT! Now that this story's past a total of 10 chapters, maybe it's time I receive a second **concrit**.  
>But if you want to give me the <span>short positive review<span>, I accept that too.

* * *

><p>Before I make more false promises, I want to inform my loyal readers that...<br>Though I don't know when I'll update this story, I have** not** dumped this story!  
>I always try to find the time to work on this fic. So please, don't worry.<p> 


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